


Since when?

by Sparky18



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kid Fic, Light Angst, NWSL, PREATH - Freeform, Portland Thorns, Romance, Semi-Slow Burn, US Women's Soccer National Team
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 83,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparky18/pseuds/Sparky18
Summary: Tobin is injured for Christen’s first cap. But she meets an interesting little boy who makes her question everything when she is forced to sit up in the booth.
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 231
Kudos: 904





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. So please let me know what you guys think and if you want me to continue. There are probably spelling/grammar errors. I tried my best.  
> I know ages and timelines aren’t 100% correct. I tried to keep it as real as possible but had to make some changes for the story line.

Tobin hated being injured. Having to sit in the booth and watch all her friends play the game she loved was one of the most painful things she could think of. Even worse than the injury that has her benched for this game. 

Normally when she can’t play she would just sit on her phone to distract herself. But today is different. Today is Christen Press’ first cap. 

Christen and Tobin played against each other for all of their college careers. I guess you could say that was where there friendship blossomed. Their schools had a bit of rivalry on the field, but off the field they all had a good time. 

But their friendship really formed when they got to play together on the Pali blues. If you ask any of their teammates, they would say if you saw one the other would not be far behind. They became best friends. 

If you asked Tobin, she would say yes they were only friends. But deep down she new she had the biggest crush on Christen. But as far as she knew Christen was straight. So she was okay to just be her friend. 

But after the season ended so did the friendship. Tobin was a terrible texter so after a couple weeks the communication just stopped altogether. 

Tobin tried to keep up with where she went, but Tobin being Tobin she did not do it as much as she would like to. She knew Christen went to Sweden after college but that was about it, until she saw her name on the call up list and all the memories came flooding back. 

So here she is in the friends, family and players booth wishing she never lost contact with the beautiful girl. As she watched her play she realized how much different she played now than the last time she saw her. 

She looked free, and happy. She smiled at ever shot even the ones she missed. Tobin wished she could have seen the transitions from that nervous, anxiety ridden, to hard on herself press, to this one. 

It was half time so she was on her phone just scrolling through an art page on instagram when she feels a tap on her shoulder. 

She looks over and see a little boy no older than four standing there in a usa jersey with a teddy bear holding a soccer ball. He looked so shy. 

“Hi” Tobin said with a smile not wanting to scare the little boy and more than he already was. 

“H-H-hi, your Tobin Heath right” he whispered. If it was any quieter she might not have heard him. 

“Yes I am. What is your name?” Tobin said hoping to get the boy out of his shyness. She loved kids. She couldn’t wait for the day she could have her own, instead of just babysitting everyone else’s. But having kids would have to wait until he career got to a more stable place. 

The boy smiled, and Tobin could already tell he was about to open up and come out of his shell. “I am Max, and this is my teddy, blue. It was my mommy’s but she said I could have it now. She said her friend gave it to her for good luck and she wanted me to have it for good luck too.” 

“Well hi Max. That is awesome. Your mom sounds awesome especially since she gave you a special bear.” Tobin said still smiling at the boy. 

Following this the boy went and tried to sit in the sit next to Tobin. He was struggling to get up so Tobin stood up, and helped him get into the seat. When she sat back down she looked over and was just starring at her. So she smiled back unsure what to do or say. 

But than he started talking. “Why aren’t you playing? Mommy says you are the best. Why aren’t you out there nutmegging?” Tobin just smiled at him. This is what she loved about her job the excited kids who just loved watching her. 

“Well tell your Mom thank you, but I don’t think I am the best. But I can’t play today. I am hurt, but I should be better soon. Hopefully I can be back to nutmegging people in no time.” The boy just smiled at her like that was the greatest news he had ever heard in the world. 

“I want to learn to nutmeg. Mommy tries to teach me but she isn’t that good. She said her friend showed her how. Her friend must not be a good teacher. Or my mom is a bad student. But my mommy is smart so I don’t know.” 

Tobin laughed at the little boys rambling. He is just throwing his mom right under the bus she thought to herself. “Well buddy if you want to learn and get really good at it you have to keep practicing. I practiced everyday until I mastered it, and than I still practice. Watch some videos and maybe that will help.” 

“No!” He shouts surprising Tobin. “Sorry, that was loud I just got excited” he shyly apologized to Tobin hoping she wasn’t going to be mad at him. When Tobin just continued to smile and look at him he continued. “Maybe you could teach me, Mommy says you are the best. You are nutmeg queen. You are my favorite player, shh don’t tell mommy she won’t like that” 

Tobin just looks at the little boy. He is just looking at her with the most precious green eyes and a hopeful smile on his face. She didn’t want to turn him down and break his little heart. She was so conflicted not knowing what to do. 

“I don’t know bud, we would have to talk to your mom first” Tobin said hoping that someone else could say no to him so she wasn’t the one to break his little heart. “Where is she” 

“Out there” Max said pointing down to the field. This confused Tobin, she had met everyone on the teams kids before. But she had never met Max before today. “Number 23” 

“23” Tobin said

“Yeah, 23. See. Thats my mommy” Max said as he turned in his seat to show Tobin the back of his red and white stripped jersey. 

Tobin’s mouth went try. How could she not know Christen had a kid. Her mind starts going a mile a minute. She starts to play over everything about Christen in her head.

Things are slowly coming back to her. She is the one that taught Christen to nutmeg. But she never mastered it because she always got distracted by something. 

That bear Max was holding on to so tightly she won Christen at the fair when they were playing at Pali Blues the night before they both left to go back to their separate lives. She gave to Christen saying good luck and remember I am always with you and cheering you on even though I can’t be there in person.

Tobin is racking her brain left and right trying to figure out how she could have not known Christen had a kid. Is that why she left? Is that why she went to Sweden? Is that why we stopped talking? How could she have not told me? I thought we were close. 

Tobin has so many questions in her head right now. She must have zoned out because again she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over at Max, he had a concerned look on her face.

“Tobin you okay?” Max said

“Yeah. Yeah. Christen Press has a kid” Tobin said out loud but mainly to herself.


	2. So we meet again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen and Tobin finally reconnect after their time apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is another chapter. I am just making stuff up as I go along, so if you have any ideas on where you want the story to go let me know.   
> Like the last chapter I tried my best but I am sure there are spelling and grammar errors

Tobin was still in shock when the final whistle blew. They had won 4-1 against Scotland.

“Tobin, Tobin. Did you see that my mommy scored 2 goals” Max said so happy and proud of his Mom. 

“Yeah bud I did. She did really good today.” Tobin said ruffling the little boys hair. She heard someone call for Max over her shoulder. Must be his babysitter or family member she thought to herself. 

Max jumped up from his seat and looked at Tobin like he was contemplating what to do next. When he just lunged forward at Tobin and gave her a hug. “I glad I got to me you in person instead of photos Tobin. I have to go see my mommy now. I am going to ask her if you can teach me how to nutmeg.” Max says as he runs off towards the voice that called him. 

Tobin is stuck in her seat. She knows she has to go down there and mingle with the team. But how can she. She knows when she goes down there she will see Christen and she doesn’t know what will happen when she does. 

•

Down on the field Max runs as fast as he can away from his grandparents trying to find his Mom. When he spots her he just runs even faster to her. “Mommy, Mommy” he shouts. 

Christen turns around to see her green eyed boy run straight for her. She catches him as he runs straight into her arms and she spins him around. Giving him tons and tons of kisses all over his face. “Mommy! Stop! It tickles” 

“Sorry baby. I am just so happy and I missed you so much” Christen said still holding her son in the middle of the field in front of thousands of people. It made her a little anxious when she realized this. But at this moment she was to happy to care.

Its not that Christen was hiding her son. She just hasn’t told anyone she has one. She didn’t want to be judged for having a child so young. So she tried to keep him out of the spotlight, only telling those closest to her. 

“Mommy you played so good tonight. Even Tobin said so” Max said so happily unaware of the bomb he just dropped on Christen. 

“Tobin?” Christen said. Trying to make sure she heard him right. There was no way. Tobin was injured she couldn’t be here. Could she? 

“Yeah mommy. Tobin Heath the nutmeg queen. The one in the picture at home. The one we watch all the time. Why you acting silly.” Max looks at his mother confused as to why she was questioning him. 

Christen’s parents finally catch up to where Max ran off to. “Chris that kid definitely inherited you speed. I can’t keep up with him.” Cody Press said looking at his daughter and son. Grabbing Max out of Christens arms to tickle him. 

Christen’s mom slides up next to her laughing at her two favorite men. “You know who was in the booth” Stacey said raising her eyebrows at Christen. Who in turn just rolled her eyes “Tobin. He just went right up to her. He was so happy to meet his idol. Drawn to her just like you were honey.” 

Christen turned to her anxiety increasing ever minute. “Mom, I knew he would. She is his idol. Probably in part to me. B-B-But” Christen says looking down at her feet kicking the grass back and forth. She didn’t know how her mom was going to react when she told her this. “She doesn’t know I have a kid” she whispered. 

Stacey gasped. “What did you say” 

“She doesn’t know I have a kid” Christen said sheepishly. 

“Well she does now. Kid couldn’t stop bragging about how awesome his mommy was” Stacey said. She couldn’t believe her daughter didn’t tell Tobin. The same Tobin who was someone special to Christen from the moment time they met. 

Christen was so distracted she didn’t realize Max had run off until he was coming back dragging a shy Tobin with him. Well this is it Christen thought can’t run away now. 

“Mommy, Mommy. Tobin said she would teach me to nutmeg since you stink. But you have to say okay” Max said so seriously, causing all the adults to laugh. 

“Um um” Christen stuttered she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say no an upset her son, but how could she say yes and force her and Tobin into an awkward situation. “Max I am sure Tobin is really busy and doesn’t have time.” 

Max face dropped. Tears started to form in his eyes at the thought of Tobin not being able to teach him. 

Tobin could not stand to see the site of the little boy so upset. So she kneeled down on the ground next to the boy. “Bud look at me” Tobin said as Max turned his body to look at her. “I want to teach you buddy. But your mom is right I am busy. But how about I talk to her and see if maybe we can set up a time” 

His face lit up like the lights on a Christmas tree and just like that the tears disappeared and the happy kid was back. “Grandma, Grandpa did you hear that, Tobin said she would teach me” 

“I did. I did. Why don’t we take a walk and let your Mom and Tobin talk” Stacey said grabbing the boy by the hand and walking away. 

“It was good to see you again Tobin” Cody said as he walk away 

Now alone Christen and Tobin just stand there. Not saying anything. Tobin sticks her hands in her pockets and bounces back and forth on the heels of her feet. They both look at her each other at the same time. 

Tobin doesn’t know what to do or say. She is just hoping Christen says something to break the silence. It never used to be like this. 

Christen knows she has to tell her. Has to explain to her. But she doesn’t know how. But she can’t stand here and not say anything. “Tobin” Christen says and than pauses. “Thanks for him. You don’t have to actually teach him. I will just make something up”

“Chris you don’t have to make something up. He looks like a good kid. We can figure something out” Tobin says hoping that this can be the olive branch to help them get over this little bump in the road. 

“Okay” Christen says. Not sure what else she can say to show her gratitude. 

“Can we stop being awkward now and can I have a hug” Tobin said using her trademark smile. Christen couldn’t help but smile to and hug the girl who once was her favorite person. “I missed you” Tobin whispered in her ear 

“I missed you too” Christen said as they pulled away. She looked down at the ground and kicked the grass again. “I am sure you have questions and I want to answer them all Tobin.” 

“Hey stop” Tobin said right away sensing the other girls anxiety spiking. Even after all this time apart she could still read the girl like no one else could. Tobin scratched the hair on her neck, her nervous tick. “I only have one right now. Since when?”


	3. The waiting game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being halfway around the world sucks but atleast cell phones help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter. I am enjoying writing this. I am trying to make this as realistic as possible without make the burn to slow or to fast. Thanks for the comments and kudos. I really appreciate them. Again feel free to comment any ideas you have for the story or any constructive criticisms.

Tobin never got the answer to her question, as Christen was whisked away to do an interview. But they did exchange numbers, and Christen promised that they would talk soon.

It had been a couple days since Tobin had seen Christen, and she still hadn’t heard from her. To say Tobin wasn’t nervous that the same thing that happened after Pali Blues was going to happen again would be a big fat lie.

She was able to distract herself as best she could as she was getting settled in Portland for preseason that is starting in a couple weeks.

She still wasn’t a hundred percent, but her doctor cleared her this morning for condition and training as long as she isn’t apart of any contact drills or scrimmages. As much as that pained her to hear she would follow every restriction to the tee, if it meant she would be cleared to play in the season opener.

Tobin is sitting on her couch playing her switch when she hears her phone ding repeatedly. At first she thought it might be Christen but as it kept going off she assumed it wasn’t and it was just one of her many group chats she doesn’t want to be apart of.

She pauses her game and grabs her phone. Turns out it was just Kelley and Alex.

**Smelly Kelley: Tobin**  
 **Smelly Kelley: Tobs**  
 **Baby Horse: Let us in we are downstairs**  
 **Smelly Kelley: Open**  
 **Smelly Kelley: the**  
 **Smelly Kelley: door**  
 **Smelly Kelley: Hurry up its freezing**  
 **Baby Horse: Tobin if you don’t open this door** **right now I am going to need** **help hiding a body.**

Tobin huffs and gets up off the couch to buzz them up. She leaves the door ajar so they can just walk right in and she goes to sit back on the couch.

Kelley burst through the door being her usual annoying self “Honey I am home” Kelley says as she walks in and jumps onto the couch right next to Tobin.

Alex walks in, in a more civilized manor. Closing the door and walking over to sit on the recliner next to the couch.

Tobin looks up from her phone to see both Kelley and Alex staring at her. “What” Tobin says annoyed

“How are you, we haven’t really talked much lately” Alex said trying to broach the subject slowly and at Tobin’s pace knowing how she is stubborn and will runaway at the first sign of having to talk about her problems.

“I am fine. Just getting ready for preseason. Doc said I should be good to go for the home opener. So Kelley should be ready to get her ass kicked” Tobin said laughing at the hurt expression her friend made.

“You wish Tobi, but you know that is not what we are talking about and you know it” Kelley said a little annoyed at her friends obvious deflection.

Tobin just huffed. “I don’t know what you guys want me to say”

“Well how did it go did you guys catch up, did you hug and kiss and fall in love all over again” Kelley said smiling know exactly what she was doing.

“Kelley shut up” Tobin said, Kelley clearly getting under her skin. She started itching the back of her neck not knowing what to say. “We didn’t really have time to talk. We just said hi. But umm I did have time to talk to Max” as Tobin said this she looked and saw Kelley’s face wash over with a wave of guilt and than looked over to Alex hoping maybe she would get some answers.

“Don’t look at me, I only found out about Max like last week” Alex said looking pointedly over at Kelley.

“Kell why didn’t you ever tell me” Tobin asked. She couldn’t understand why her best friend would keep something like this from her especially knowing how she felt about Christen from their Pali Blue days.

“Tobs, I am sorry I never told you. I wanted to I promise. But it wasn’t my story to tell and Christen made me promise I wouldn’t say anything to you. I thought eventually she would tell you but than she never did, and than you stopped talking about her and I thought you finally moved on from her, so I didn’t want to bring it up again.” Kelley said rambling for fear that her ever so chill best friend would get mad or blow up on her.

Tobin just jumped up. Kelley could tell this was causing a lot of turmoil for Tobin in her head. “ I just don’t get why she didn’t tell me! I thought we had something! I thought we were best friends! I guess I was completely wrong!” Tobins voice just kept raising every sentence.

“Tobin listen to me. You did not read it wrong. I wish I could tell you everything but I can’t. Its not my story to tell, its Christens and you need to get it from her. But just know she was going through a rough time after Pali Blues, finding out she was pregnant and moving halfway across the world. It had nothing to do with you she was just going through a lot and had to figure it out for herself” Kelley said hoping that this would help her friend down from the metaphorical ledge she was standing over.

She always new Tobin was protective, she was especially protective of Christen. Kelley remembers the one time they all went to the beach together and some boys were playing frisbee. The frisbee was overthrown and hit Christen in the foot.

The way Tobin reacted you would have thought you were in a Marvel movie and she was the hulk. She freaked out on those boys and broke their frisbee. They were so scared I bet they never touched another frisbee in their life.

Tobin now calmed down a little went and sat back down on couch. “I just- I could have been their for her. I- I could have helped her. She didn’t have to be alone”

•

Meanwhile half way around the world Christen was having a hard time getting Max to adjust to being back in Sweden. He couldn’t adjust to the time difference so he wasn’t sleeping, which was causing him to have tantrums.

“Max you need to sit down and stop playing with the ball in the house you are going to break something” Christen said trying to keep her voice even, but her son was testing her to no limits.

“Mommy I can’t I have to practice. Tobin said everyday” Max continued to learn the trick he was watching on Youtube.

“Well I don’t think she told you to do it in the house.” Christen said

“Well you won’t let me see her to learn it!” Max said grabbing his ball and stomping off to her room.

Vero who just happened to be over her house at this time was in shock at the little boys outburst. Normally he was a great listener. He never talked back and did everything his mother asked.

Vero is one of her best friends in Sweden. Yes they did date for a little bit, she was Christens first serious relationship with a girl, and first relationship after Max was born. But they mutually agreed that they were better of as friends.

Vero is the only one who knows everything about Christen. It was easy for Christen to talk to Vero about everything because she was someone new who didn’t know her in the past life. That is probably how feelings got confused because it was so easy to talk to her about the worst times of her life.

“Chris what has gotten in to him” Vero asked “and what does he mean you won’t let him see Tobin. Did you guys see her? I thought she was injured? She wasn’t on the call up list”

“I think its the time change making him crabby” Christen said looking down the hall to where her son disappeared off to. “But yes he met Tobin. I guess she came to watch and he spent half the game talking to her. We didn’t really get to talk after the game. But Max wants Tobin to teach him to nutmeg. We exchanged numbers, and I told her I would text her. But I haven’t yet. I mean whats the point I am halfway around the world. And I don’t know what to say, how do I tell her everything I need to tell her. I can’t do that. Not over the phone.”

Vero grabbed Christen hands hoping that would stop her rambling. “Listen to me Christen. Just text her, don’t let what happened last time happen again. So tell her that when you text. That you want to tell her everything but that is an in person conversation. Use this time away to text each other and reconnect on a surface level. So that when you get to see each other again in person maybe things won’t be so awkward.” Vero said. She noticed a sense of realization wash over Christens face.

“I guess your right. But what do I even say first” Christen says. She grabs her phone from on top of the counter. She pulls up Tobins contact and just stares at the empty text thread trying to think of what to say.

•

Tobin was just getting out if the shower when she heard her phone ding. She figured it was just Sinc telling her when they were going to train later, so she continued to get dressed.

When she sat on the edge of her bed and picked up her phone. It was definitely not what she expected.

**Christen Press: Hey Tobin. Its Christen Press. Sorry I haven’t texted you until today. It has been crazy getting settled again in Sweden.**

Tobin couldn’t help but laugh at the text. Of course she knew who it was, she didn’t need to say her full name. She was internally kicking herself for being worried that they were going to disconnect again. She contemplated for a little bit the perfect text to send back.

**Tobin Heath: Hi Christen Press. Its okay I figured you were busy with Max. How is the little dude?**

**Christen Press: He is struggling to readjust to the time change. The weather has been crappy outside so he can’t go out and play. So he has been kicking the ball in the house. Reminds me of someone I know. That same someone who told my son they need to practice everyday, so when I say no he throws a tantrum 😂**

Tobin laughed to herself.

**Tobin Heath: Haha. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause any problems for you or to have him get in trouble. He just really wanted to learn.**

**Christen Press: Tobin stop you don’t have to apologize he knows better. Its just because he is tired it makes his anger rise. He is just using the fact that you haven’t been able to teach him and I am the perfect scapegoat for it.**

**Tobin Heath: I am sorry. Christen if I was there I would teach him you have to know that.**

**Christen Press: I know. But thats not how it is.**

**Tobin Heath: Maybe I could talk to him? Tell him that its not your fault and I really do want to teach him.**

**Christen Press: You don’t have to do that. He will get over it.**

**Tobin Heath: But I want to. Can I Facetime him? Right now? Is he still awake or is it past his bedtime?**

**Christen Press: He should still be awake. If you are sure Tobin, he will talk your ear off. I don’t want you to feel like you have too.**

•

Christens tiny two bedroom apartment gets filled with the ringing of a Facetime call. Tobins name coming across the screen.

She swipes across the screen to answer it.

“Hi” Christen says with small smile

_“Hi” Tobin says with her signature smirk “where is my little buddy”_

“Wow I feel like chopped liver” Christen said laughing walking towards Max’s room.

_“Maybe I like chopped Liver” Tobin says laughing_

Christen just rolls her eyes as she pushes open Max’s door. He is laying on his bed facing away from the door. Christen already knows he probably has a pout on his face.

“Max someone wants to talk to you” Christen says quietly hoping that her voice wouldn’t set the young boy off

“Go away. I mad at you” Max said still not facing her

“Max I think you want to talk to her” Christen says walking closer

“No I don’t” Max says

_“Bud that hurts my feelings that you don’t want to talk to me” Tobin said on the other end of the phone_

Max quickly turned around at the voice coming out of phone. He knew that voice. “Tobin!” Max shouted grabbing the phone out of his mother’s hand.

_“Hey buddy” Tobin said with a bright smile_

Max looked at his mom than back at Tobin and than back to his mom. Christen got the hint and turned around to leave the room. “Bring me my phone back when you are done and not to long you have to get ready for bed.” Christen closed the door and left the room.

_“Buddy what is this I hear about you not listening to your mom and getting angry” Tobin says looking pointedly at the little boy_

“I have to practice. You said everyday. Mommy won’t let you teach me so I get mad” Max said hoping his idol would understand him

“ _Bud you want to know what my number one rule is that I always follow even now?” Tobin asks looking at Max who shakes his head “I always listen to my Mom. What she says goes”_

Max looks guilty “Okay Tobin. I will listen to her. But I still mad at her. I want you to teach me” Max said still trying to get his point across to Tobin. He just wants her to understand.

_“Buddy you know its not your moms fault. You are just so far away from me. I promise I want to teach you” Tobin says. She wants that little boy to get that smile back that reminds her of his mom._

“But it is her fault. She brought me here. No one here. I am alone. I have no friends. She has Vero and I have no one” Max says slamming his fist on the bed.

_Tobin thought if she was in a cartoon right now she would definitely see steam coming out from his head. She feels so bad for the little boy. She wished he didn’t feel like he was all alone._

_But than her mind drifted to Christen. Who is Vero? Is Vero a friend, best friend, significant other? Is Vero a male or female? She had so many questions she wanted answered but for now she had to focus on Max._

_“Buddy you aren’t alone you have your Mom. And I am your friend.” Tobin said. “How about this, I know I can’t be there in person but how about on Tuesdays I will FaceTime you and I can try and teach you the best I can”_

“Really” Max said as his smile grew so big. Tobin had never seen a smile so big. “Can we please” Max begged

_“But I have one condition” Tobin said looking at Max, making sure he was listening “you have to be good and listen to your Mom. If you aren’t good that day we won’t have a lesson”_

“Okay Tobin I promise I will be good. I want you to teach me.” Max said.

_“Okay buddy. Why don’t you get ready for bed” Tobin said as she saw now that the excitement was wearing down his eyes started to droop._

“Goodnight Tobin” Max said

_“Goodnight buddy” Tobin said right before he ended the call._

Max runs out if his room straight to his Mother who is sitting on the couch reading a book. “Mommy here” Max says as he is handing his Mom the phone. “Tobin said she would teach me”

Christen closes her book and looks at him. “She did, did she?”

“Yeah mommy she really did. But she told me I have to listen to you and be good”

“Well did you tell her thank you” Christen says as she scratches the top of his head.

“Oh no! I forgot.”

“Its okay buddy you can tell her another time. Why don’t you go brush your teeth and get you jammies on and I will be in to tuck you in.” Max hugged his mom and got up running to his room.

Christen pulled out her phone, and pulled up the text thread with Tobin.

**Christen Press: Thank you for that. He is so happy. Since when did you become such a softy?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have an idea of how I want Christen to have gotten pregnant. Its not going to be anything bad. But my question is do you guys want Max’s dad to be in the picture or not?


	4. My story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin and Christen finally get to talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter. As always feel free to leave any comments

About a month has passed since their first FaceTime call when Tobin agreed to teach Max. Everything has been going great. 

Every Tuesday she wakes up early and calls Christen. Tobin and Max practice and Tobin tries her best teach him everything he wants to know. 

After they practice they stay on the call and Tobin eats breakfast with them while they eat dinner. Tuesdays are their days together. 

Tobin and Christen text as much as they can. They reply back and forth between practices or whenever they have a spare moment. Its not as much as either one of them would like but with the time difference and them both being busy its the best they can do. 

Occasionally if both of them are free for a extended period of time they will Facetime or call each other on the phone. Neither one of them will admit it but they cherish those calls. 

They haven’t had any deep conversations yet, mainly just reconnecting, remembering old memories and talking about basic stuff. But Tobin really wants to ask. She still has so many questions. 

They both got called into this May camp and she is hoping this will give them the opportunity to talk. She knows Christen has her walls up and she just wants to knock them down. 

•

Training this morning was good for Tobin. She was finally feeling a hundred percent after her injury. It was an easy morning because most of the players playing international hadn’t arrived yet. 

Which was distracting to Tobin. The only thing she could think about all morning was that she was going to get to see Christen and Max in just a couple hours. 

Her Facetime calls with them just weren’t enough. She wanted to be able to spend time with them in person. See there matching green eyes and there big bright smiles up close. 

She wanted to be the first one to see them when they arrived and she couldn’t wait to see them a second longer than she had to. So after practice she went down to the lobby, found a couch and laid down. She pulled out her switch and started playing. 

•

Christen was exhausted. She couldn’t sleep on the plane ride, because Max couldn’t sleep. He was wide awake the whole way to the States. 

If she thought he was wired on the plane, she was not ready for when they got off and were in the van on the way to the hotel. 

She felt bad for Meghan, Ashlyn and Ali because they had to listen to the little boy rambling on and on for the whole ride. 

“Mommy we get to see Tobin. Are you excited to see Tobin”

“I know we do. I am sweetie.” Christen said as she pulled him into a side hug

“She can teach me to nutmeg in person. I can show her how good I learn.” Max said hugging his bear blue “Do you think Tobin will want to hang out with me?” 

“What do you mean. Of course she will. Remember Tuesdays are your lessons with her” she sticks are hand under Max’s chin to turn his face towards her.

“No mommy. I mean like hang out like friends. Like you and Vero. Tobin said she was my friend” Christen’s heart is breaking at her little boys sad and somber voice. 

“Well if she said she was your friend than I bet she wouldn’t pass up hanging out with you.” Christen said. And small satisfying grin came to her little boys face. She just hoped that Tobin would want to hang out with him. If she told him no and broke his heart she wasn’t sure what she would do. 

•

As they walk into the hotel and are waiting to get their room keys. Christen feels a tugging on her hand. She look down to see Max’s expectant eyes. 

“Mommy, Mommy Tobin is over there” Max says as he points to the woman laying down on the couch. “Can I go say hi”

“I think she is sleeping. Why don’t we wait.” 

“No mommy now.” Christen can’t say no. He has been looking forward to this for weeks. “Be careful I think she is sleeping”

The little boy tip toes quietly with his teddy until he gets right in front of Tobin. Who was in fact sleeping with he switch on her chest. Max slowly moves the switch to the table.

He than proceeds to jump on top of Tobin. “Tobin wake up!” He shouts 

Tobin jumps and screams a little bit. But when she opens her eyes to see Max laughing hysterically her heart rate calms right back down. “I scared you” he says while continuing to laugh. 

“Hey buddy. How was the flight” Tobin says while tickling the little boy. 

“It was long. I just wanted to see you” Max said laying down on top of Tobin. Cuddling on top of her. 

“I know bud. I felt like I was waiting for forever for you guys to get here.” 

Christen walks over to them now that she got her room key. The sight in front of her was probably one of the cutest things she had ever seen. She allowed her mind to drift, to what the future could hold. 

Her and Tobin living a life together with Max. Her cooking breakfast on Sunday mornings to walk out into the living room to see her two favorite people cuddled up on the couch. 

But she can’t think like that, because that will never happen. Especially when she tells her everything.

“Hey Chris” when those words come out of Tobins mouth they startle Christen from her day dream. 

“Hi Tobin” Christen whispered. “Come on Max, lets go up to the room.” 

“No” Max blurted out “I want to stay with Tobi” 

“He can stay with me Chris. If you want to go get settled and I will bring him up to you in a little while” Here eyes flicking between the two Press’, with a hopeful look in them. 

“If that’s what you want. Max you can hang out with Tobin for a little bit, but behave and listen to anything she says” Pointedly looking at him to make sure he understood she was serious and not messing around. “Room 223 when you’re done”

As Christen walks away, Max rolls so him and Tobin are laying stomach to stomach so he can look at her face. “Are we going to get to hang out this camp” He quietly whispers

“Of course buddy. Remember Tuesdays are our lessons, thats not going to change just because we are at camp” Tobin says with confusion in her voice. Not sure why he would ask that when she made him a promise. 

“No, I mean like just me and you and like not when you are teaching me. Like maybe we can got to the zoo” He mumbles the last part looking at his teddy bear and picking at the eye. “Like friends” he says almost inaudibly

Thats when it all clicked for Tobin, and the realization washed across her face. Her mind flashed back to that conversation where he said he had no friends. It was at that moment Tobin decided it was going to be her mission to change that. “Of course buddy. I love the zoo. Me and you can go on my next off day. But guess what” 

The happy boy shouts “what!” 

“A lot of my friends on the team have kids your age and I am sure they will love the play with you while you mommy and I are busy” She says while ruffling the boys head. 

“Really?” Max says excitedly but with a little skepticism in his voice. 

“Yeah I promise. You can meet them all later at dinner” 

“Can I watch you play your switch” after hearing that Tobin grabs her switch from the table an turns it on to start playing. 

Max falls asleep pretty quickly, and Tobin can hear the soft snores coming from him and it might be the cutest thing she has ever heard. 

In this moment she realizes that she loves this kid. He brightens her mood every time they talk. She vowed in that moment to make sure he stayed in her life. She was going to do whatever it takes to have him and Christen in whatever capacity they would let her. 

She pulls out her phone to text Christen. 

** Tobs: Hey he feel asleep. I don’t want to wake him. I’ll just meet you at dinner.  **

•

Christen is sitting at a table in the conference room turned dining room for the team. She is just staring at the door waiting for her son to walk through the door. When Kelley plops down in the seat next to her.

“You know a watched pot never boils” she says laughing hysterically like she was so funny. 

Christen looks at her and rolls her eyes. She goes back to watching the door. After a couple of minutes what she has been waiting for finally occurs. But it definitely hit her harder than she was expecting. 

Max and Tobin come walking into the room. Tobin is holding Max’s hand, while Max is holding Blues paw. Max is looking up at Tobin and he must of said something funny because she throws her head backing laughing. 

She feels a hand on her should “Keep it in you pants pressy, and you might want to wipe of the drool. Your son is right in front of you, control yourself” Kelley whispers as she gets up and leaves the table. 

Only a few people know about the crush she used to have on Tobin, and Kelley was one of them. In this moment she was regretting telling the girl. 

The tiny crush she use to have is nothing compared to what she is feeling now. Tobin has definitely aged well, and seeing her interact with her son might just make her ten times more attractive. 

Max spots his mom and lets go of Tobins hand to run straight towards his mom. When Max reaches Christen she picks him up, puts him on her lap and gives him a kiss. 

“Mommy guess what” 

“What?”

“Tobi said she will take me to the zoo” Max blurted out. 

Christen looked over at Tobin who just winked at her and went over to the buffet to grab some food. This made Christen blush, but she was glad that Tobin was no longer looking her way, so she couldn’t see it. 

•

The next couple days flew by in a breeze. Practice was going great. The team was looking sharp. If you asked Tobin she would say they were looking the best they had in years. 

Christen and Tobin were connecting on the field like they had played together for years. They had a silent communication everyone wished they had. Tobin just knew where Christen would be and could send her the perfect crosses that would leave any goalie scrambling. 

Tobin introduced Max to the other kids on the team as promised. Max and Amy’s son hit it off right away and were becoming the best of friends. 

Christen, Tobin and Max sat together for every meal. Max would always request that he got to sit in the middle so he could talk to both of them and not shout. 

Tomorrow they were lucky enough to have an off day. So Tobin as promised was taking Max to the Zoo. Christen was a little jealous that she wasn’t going to get to go with them, but as Tobin had said they needed some bro time, no mommies allowed. Which got a giggle out of Christen. 

They were just finishing up dinner when Amy and Ryan walk over. “We are going to watch Cars tonight and Ryan wants to know if Max wants to come and watch.” 

Max looks up at his mom “Can I, Can I” he shouts

“Okay, but behave” she might as well not have said the last part, because as soon as the okay left her mouth Max and Ryan were off to the races and booked it out of the room. 

“Ill bring him to you after the movie” Amy said as she followed the boys out of the room. 

Thus leaving Christen and Tobin alone for the first time since reconnecting. Both of their nerves started rising. Tobin started scratching the back of her neck. 

“Chris” 

“Can we go to my room” Christen blurted out. Than she felt embarrassed after seeing the suggestive look on Tobin’s face “um I mean not like that, but um so we can talk. I know you still have questions and we haven’t been able to talk. I want to explain everything to you” 

“Chris. Calm down its just me” Tobin said cutting off her rambling. Tobin stood up and held her hand out for Christen to grab so they could go up to her room. 

•

Christen goes and sits at the head of the bed and grabs a pillow to hug onto. Tobin ends up sitting at the foot of the bed cross legged. Tobin can sense Christen’s anxiety getting out of control.

“Chris we don’t have to do this. You don’t have to tell me, if its making you this nervous. I can wait until you’re ready” 

“I am ready. I want to tell you. I am just scared about how you are going to react or what you are going to think when I tell you.” Christen says squeezing onto the pillow. “Can you just listen to everything I have to say before you ask any questions” 

Tobin smiles. She moves her fingers in front of her mouth and moving it across her lips, turning her fingers and doing a throwing motion. Saying that she is zipping her lips and throwing away the key. She than shakes her head. 

“So um I guess it all started at Pali Blues. I started really questioning myself. With soccer and with my sexuality”

Holy shit she might be into girls Tobin thought. 

“So I guess when we were done with that season and I went back to Stanford I went through a really rough patch. I wasn’t playing my best because I was so in my head about everything. So um one night Kelley took me to a party at a some football players house and I just kept drinking. Anything that was handed to me I chugged down. I wanted to just feel good for a night. There was this guy Jackson. I knew he liked me, junior year he asked me out so many times but I always turned him down. He started dancing with me, and I started to grind on him. And umm things just escalated really quickly and we went back to his room. And umm ya know we um we had sex. And the whole time I just I didn’t want to be doing that. But I never told him to stop. I just laid there. I thought that maybe if I just gave in to him it would stop all the confusion. It would mean that I was straight.” Tears started to form in Christen eyes. “But while I was laying there it just opened my eyes that I was gay and there was nothing I could do to change it, that was who I am.” 

Tobin slides up the bed to sit next to Christen. She puts her hand on top of Christen’s that is still holding tight to the pillow. She wanted to let Christen know she was there for her as best she could without saying anything like she promised. But she was fuming in her head she was so angry at this asshole Jackson, at Christen, at Kelley for taking her to that party, at herself for not reaching out to Christen more and just letting there friendship die and not being there for her. 

“So about a month later I found out I was pregnant. I felt so ashamed. Like I let everyone down. Getting pregnant so young, what would my family think? What would my friends think? Would I still be able to have my dream of playing soccer?” Sniffling she wipes the tears out of her eyes. 

“When I told my parents they told me I need to quit soccer and find a real job so that I could support him. That soccer wasn’t going to pay enough to raise a child on. But how could I give up my dream, it was all I ever knew. Jackson was always a nice guy but when I told him I was pregnant everything changed, it was like I didn’t even know him anymore. He started calling me a slut, and a whore. As if I already didn’t know thats what I was. Told me I should get an abortion right away that I would never make a great mom. But I couldn’t go through with an abortion. Max might have been an accident but he was never a mistake, he is the best thing that has ever happened to me” a small smile forms on her face when she thinks of her little boy. 

“So I was basically alone my whole pregnancy except for Kelley. She was my rock through it all. She was the only one I thought I had in my corner. Max was born on June 9th, 2010 and it was the best day of my life. His dad came to see him for the first time in the beginning of July and I thought things had changed with him. I thought he went back to the Jackson I knew my junior year. I didn’t want my son to grow up without a father. So we made it work for a couple months. We became friends. We got a 2 bedroom apartment together and we were co-parenting great. It was good until it wasn’t. Jackson started to use drugs. One night he came home high as a kite, and he tried to kiss me but I just pushed him off me. He started yelling at me calling me names, saying how I was an abomination because I was gay and I should let him fuck the gay out of me. He started throwing things at me. When he threw a lamp that was the final straw. I called the police. They arrested him, and the next day he signed over his rights and I haven’t seen or heard from him since. I think he was just using my son to try and get to me. The next week I moved out and was on a plane to Sweden to start my new life.” 

Tobin let go of Christens hand and stormed out of the room. She slammed the door. She was so angry she couldn’t even think straight. How could this have happened to the most amazing woman she has ever meet. 

She wanted to be mad at God, because how could he let this happen to her. But she knew it wasn’t his fault. This world is just cruel and sometimes it throws curve balls at you that you can’t control. 

Once she was outside in the hall she leaned against the wall and she slide down it. She just kept banging her fist on the ground. She needed to do something to let this anger go but she didn’t want to leave Christen alone. But she couldn’t be stuck in that room anymore. 

She heard the door opening up. She looked up to see Christen just looking at her tear stained faced with fresh ones still rolling down them. “Chris I just I need to process, I- I” 

At that moment they heard the laughter of a little boy walking closer to them. They knew it had to be Amy bringing Max back after the movie. Christen quickly wipes all the tears from her eyes. 

He walks up to the two adults and he can immediately sense something is wrong. “Mommy whats wrong” He says looking at her. He hates seeing her upset. 

“Nothing honey why don’t you go get ready for bed” she says as he walks in the room. Tobin gets up from the floor. “I have to go” Tobin says getting up and walking away. “Amy can you tell Kelley to meet at the field” 

Christen just watched as she walked away. She knew this would happen. She knew as soon as Tobin knew, everything would change and everything would be over before it even started. 

She didn’t even get to tell Tobin how she was the one that made her realize she liked girls. How she was the one in her mind that had gotten away. That the reason her and her last girlfriend broke up is because she couldn’t get past the what ifs that could have been with Tobin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So everyone wanted the dad out of the picture so this is the story I came up with. I hope you liked it.   
> I know it left on a cliff hanger which I hate doing. But I couldn’t decide how I wanted the next part to go. So I figured I would give you this chapter instead of making you wait.   
> For the next chapter should I have Max be made at Tobin for making his mom said or should I make Max upset because he thinks Tobin won’t want to be friends anymore? Let me know


	5. The aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin struggles with the aftermath of her chat with Christen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I really struggled with this chapter. I am not sure I really like how it turned out. But i hope you guys like it. As always feel free to leave comment with what you want to see happen or with any constructive criticisms you may have.

Kelley walked over to the field where Amy told her she needed to meet Tobin. She saw her just sitting on the ground with a ball in between her legs. This was a tell tale sign to Kelley that it was bad. 

For anyone that knows Tobin, they know she always has a ball her feet, and when she does she is either juggling or nutmegging. So to see her sitting down was alarming. 

As she walked closer she could hear sniffling coming from the girl. Tobin looked up at her, and Kelley could immediately see the tear tracks on her face. 

“Kell I screwed up.” Tobin sniffles out 

“What do you mean Tobin. What happened” Kelley continues her walk over to Tobin and sits down next to her. 

“She was telling me what happened with Jackson and how Max came to be” she tried to get out through sniffles and hiccups “and I just ran out” 

“What do you mean you just ran out” Kelley said her voice raising a little. She may be Tobin’s best friend but Christen has always had a special place in her heart. 

“I was just getting so angry. Every time she said something new it just grew and grew and the room felt like it was getting smaller. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I was going to explode.” She looks away ashamed at what she was going to say next “I just had to get out of there so I got up and ran out of the room. But once I got out in the hallway I couldn’t leave, I didn’t want to leave her. But I couldn’t go back in there. I needed to calm down, I needed to process. So I sat there. But than Max was coming back and it was all just to much for me so I left I ran out of the hotel to here” 

“Tobin look at me” Kelley had something to say but Tobin cut her off. 

“I know what you’re going to say Kelley. I need to learn to control my temper and face my problems head on. I have been working on it and you know I have. But I just feel like all this with Chris is my fault. What if I had been a better friend, none of this would have happened. So I am so angry at myself and I couldn’t control it. So I had to leave, but than I realized I would be leaving her alone again and I didn’t want to do that.” 

“Thats not what I was going to say. But listen to me closely. You are right I know you have been working on it, but running out tonight shows that you have a lot of work to do. You can not blame yourself, none of it is your fault, I know it was a rough time for Chris but she doesn’t regret any of it because she now has Max, and who couldn’t love every ounce of that boy.” A smile starts to form on Tobin’s face when she thinks about him. “So when you and Chris find the time to talk again, you need to not be your stubborn self and tell her everything.” 

“Okay. I will. Thanks for this Kelley. Sometimes I forget how serious and smart you can be” 

Kelley stands up “I went to Stanford too you know, it wasn’t just your girl.” She holds her hand out for Tobin to grab so she can pull her up “come on get up, lets get some rest” 

The two girls start walking back to the hotel. Tobin was on autopilot the whole walk back trying to figure out how to put everything into words to tell Christen. 

•

Tobin had trouble sleeping. But when her alarm went off in the morning she shot right up out of bed. Today she was taking Max to the Zoo. She was hoping that it would take her mind off everything. She was also hoping maybe it would help her earn some brownie points with Christen after last night. 

She gets dressed in her typical outfit. A white t-shirt, ripped jeans and a black snapback. She grabs her phone, and wallet and walks out of her room. 

She gets to room 223 and knocks on the door. She is a little nervous to see Christen again. She feels like she has been standing there forever waiting for the door to open when in reality it was only a few seconds. 

Christen opens the door, her face is a mix of confusion and sadness. “What are you doing here” 

“I am here to pick up Max, we are going to the zoo remember” Tobin said confused, they talked about these plans all week. How could she forget. 

“Tobin he doesn’t want to go” Christen says with no emotion 

“What do you mean he doesn’t want to go, we were just talking yesterday at dinner and he was so excited” Tobin rushes out

“Well he changed his mind somewhere between than and now” the words coming out if Christens voice slightly annoyed. 

“Come on Chris, I am sorry about last night. Please don’t let it ruin me and Max’s plan” Tobin begs

“This has nothing to do with me, it was his choice” as those words come out of Christen mouths, Max comes running out from behind Christen and pushes Tobin hitting her to push her back away from the door.

“Go away Tobi, I mad at you, I don’t like you” He says walking back towards Christen. He grabs her hand and drags her until she is fully in the room. He than closes the door, leaving a shocked Tobin standing in the hall. 

•

It was now dinner time, and Tobin had spent all day upset in her room. She had the whole day planned out for them. She had downloaded the map of the zoo and mapped out their plan of attack. 

First they were going go to the Gorilla and Monkey area. After that they were going to work there way to the lions and tigers. Tobin figured it would be warm so they could stop for dippin dots when they past the stand on their way to the bird exhibits. 

The zoo also had a small African safari you could do, so they would do that next. Following the safari they would do the water life, where they could see penguins and otters and last they would go to the aquarium. 

Ashlyn had been hyping up sharks all week to Max, so that seemed to be his favorite animal at the moment. So she wanted to save the best for last. 

After the zoo she was going to take him out to lunch to have some pizza. Dawn would be mad when she found out she broke her dieting rules, but she didn’t care because it would mean she got to see Max happy. 

But none of that got to happen. She hoped that maybe he was just tired and cranky this morning and when they came in for dinner it would be like nothing happened. 

Tobin had already gotten her food and was sitting at the table they sat at every night for dinner just waiting for them to show up. 

After a few minutes Christen and Max walked in. They walked over to the buffet and got there food. Christen and Tobin made eye contact and Tobin could see the sadness in her eyes. 

But instead of them walking over to sit with them, they walked to a different table and sat with Amy and Ryan. This really hurt Tobin. I guess it wasn’t just a morning thing she thought to herself. 

•

The next couple days were rough on Tobin and Christen. Since they reconnected they had talked everyday. But its now been 3 days and they haven’t spoken. 

Practices were going horrible for them. They weren’t connecting anymore. Tobin was making terrible crosses, she was failing at nutmegging left and right, and if she could make a cross, Christen would miss the shot. 

Christen’s runs were off, she couldn’t make any shots and because she was struggling it was making her anxiety grow. It was making her think back to her Stanford days. 

Not only were there teammates getting frustrated at the horrible play. So were the coaches. By the third day Jill was furious. 

“Press and Heath get over here right now” Jill screamed after she blew the whistle. “The rest of you do a cool down lap and we will be done for today” 

Tobin and Christen walk over to Jill as slow as they possibly could hoping to delay the lecturing a little longer. 

“Listen I don’t know what has gotten into you guys. But you need to fix it or you can pack your bags and go home” Jill said as she turned around and walked away leaving the two girls just standing there. 

“Listen Chr” Tobin started to say before Christen interrupted her. 

“No you listen Tobin. You know how hard it was for me to tell you what happened, and you didn’t let me finish and you just left when I needed you. So you don’t get to decide when we talk, I do” Tobin had never heard her voice so cold. 

“Okay” Tobin said sheepishly “For what its worth, I am sorry and its my fault. I regret everything” 

“Its not okay Tobin, but I forgive you. But i just need some time. But for now can we just leave it off the field” Christen said 

Tobin sticks out her hand for Christen to grab. They shake hands. “Deal, I will do whatever it takes. I will prove it to you” After they both shakes hands they part ways to go cool down.

•

After that they got back into the groove at practice. They only interacted when it was for team things. But it was better than nothing in Tobin’s eyes. She hoped that eventually they could get back to normal and this would be a good stepping stone. 

It was now Tuesday her day with Max. So after lunch they had the afternoon off. She figured that her and Max could have to whole afternoon to practice with him. 

She grabbed her ball and started walking down the hall to get Max. She knocked on 223. It felt like deja vu, to the day she was supposed to take Max to the zoo. 

But this time Max opened the door. He looked at her anger still in all his features. When it registered in his mind that it was Tobin he closed the door on her. 

So Tobin knocked again. “Its Tuesday, our lesson day Max come on” Tobin rushed out hoping to get it out before he slammed the door on her again. 

“I am not going” Max said and closes the door on her again. 

Tobin’s heart broke. She just wanted to break down and cry. In a matter if minutes she ruined everything good that was going in her life other than soccer and she didn’t know how she would get it back. 

•

“Happy Birthday” Tobin was woken up by Kelley, Alex, Amy and Lauren screaming in her room. They had balloons and confetti. Normally that would put a smile on her face. But not today. 

“Thanks guys” Tobin said and turned back over. They finally got another off day and she just wanted to lay in bed again. 

“Come on Tobin its your Birthday, camp is over in a couple days and you have been pouting for almost a week. Come on get up. Its your Birthday what do you want, we can do anything” Kelley says as she jumps on the bed 

“I just want Chris and Max, but they hate me and want nothing to do with me. So now I just want to lay in bed all day. So please leave” Tobin says pulling the covers over her face. 

The fours girls just look at each other with concerned faces and than proceed to walk out of the room. 

•

Camp had ended and everyone when back to their clubs. Tobin had told Christen to text her when they got back to Sweden safely and she did so Tobin guessed that was a start. 

She couldn’t attempt to have a lesson this week with Max because they were on a plane. I guess that was better than Max turning her down but it still hurt her. 

•

The next couple days Christen and Tobin texted very little. It was a step in the right direction but it wasn’t enough for Tobin. She knew her and Christen were working through it. But she couldn’t get over the fact that Max was mad at her and wouldn’t speak to her. 

She had a game that weekend. It was a tough one. She had already gotten a yellow card in the beginning of the game. It was the 87th minute and she was going at it with someone from the other team when she pushed her. 

As soon as she heard the whistle she got so angry and slammed the ball on the ground. She knew when she did that the game was over for her. That ref pulled out the yellow card, followed by the red card so she stormed off the field ripping the arm band off and throwing it at Mark. 

When she got back to the locker room, she had a couple text on her phone. Two caught her eye. One from her mom. 

** Mom: Tobin, I hope you are okay. Maybe its time to go see Sharon again. I haven’t seen this Tobin on my screen in a couple years.  **

And one from Christen 

**Chris: I saw what happened. I hope this doesn’t have anything to do with our problems. I would hate to be the cause of effecting your game.**

She responds to Christen immediately

** Tobin: I’m not going to lie. I think it does, you and Max. But that’s on me, not on you. I think I am going to go see my therapist tomorrow it’s been awhile.  **

•

Tobin made an appointment that night to go see Sharon. Her earliest appointment was Monday afternoon but she accepted right away. 

She is currently sitting in the waiting room, waiting for her appointment. She sees the door opening and Sharon waves her in. She walks in and sits in the chair in front of Sharon. 

“Tobin its good to see you again. Its been awhile. So what brings you back here” Sharon says clasping her hands in front of her. 

“Um I have been having a rough couple days, actually more like weeks. I guess yesterday was the final straw when I got red carded after I slammed the ball on the ground” She says rubbing the back of her neck. 

“And why was that” Sharon question

“I just was getting so frustrated during the game. Nothing was going my way. I guess outside of the game nothing was going good for me either so it all just exploded.” Tobin says 

“What has been happening outside of the game that has been going wrong?” Sharon asks

“So I recently reconnected with someone from my past her name is Christen. She has a son now Max. He is the cutest little boy. He is about to turn 4. He has like dirty blonde hair that is so fluffy. He has green eyes that look exactly like Christen’s and a big smile. He is like her mini me. I mean in male form” She lets out a little giggle

“We were getting close again, me and Christen, I use to have a big crush on her, so I guess that crush was starting to form again. But her son was becoming my little buddy. Every week I would get to teach him, and he looked up to me, i was his idol. But than when we were at camp I screwed it all up and now Christen barely talks to me and Max hates me” 

Sharon smiles a little bit at how fondly Tobin talks about the two. She can tell how much Tobin cares about them. “So why do you think you screwed it all up” 

“Well she was telling me how she got pregnant with Max and it was a lot for me to handle, and I just got up and left. I knew I shouldn’t have but I couldn’t handle it” Tobin said

“Why was it a lot to handle for you?” Sharon asks. She is really impressed with how much Tobin is talking. When she first meet the girl it was like pulling teeth to get her to say anything. This is just showing her how much Tobin has grown, but also how much these people mean to her. 

“Because if I had been a better friend maybe none of this would have happened. If I had kept in contact maybe she wouldn’t have felt so alone. Maybe if I kept in touch she wouldn’t have let herself be with that asshole and maybe we could have been together” her voice going down to a whisper at the last part 

“Tobin if you take anything away from this session I hope it is this. It is not your fault any of that happened to her. You could have texted her everyday and what happened to her could still have happened.” Tobin shakes her head to let her know she understands. 

Sharon continues “You can’t change the past, but you can change the future and chose how you handle situations. You have to show her you are sorry, that you aren’t going anywhere and you need to not only earn Christens trust back, you have to earn Max’s trust back. His mom is his number one and he is going to be protective of her.”

“I want to do that more than anything” Tobin responds 

“But to do that you can’t runaway anymore, you need to control your anger better. You need to talk more, explain how you are feeling instead of holding it all in until you explode. Do you think you can do that” Sharon asks

“I don’t know. But I am definitely going to do my best. They are worth it. I want them in my life” Tobin says as she is finally feeling some relief. 

•

Tobin woke up early like she normally does on Tuesdays for her lessons with Max. She was hoping today would be the day he would want to practice again. 

She gets ready, grabs her ball, her tripod and walks out of her apartment to the clearing behind the building. She pulls up Christens contact and clicks the button to FaceTime. 

*ring* *ring* 

_ Christens face pops up on the screen. “Hi Tobin ” _

“Hey Chris. How are you” Tobin says trying to break the ice. 

_ “I am good. Just been busy since getting back from camp” Christen says _

“Thats good. Um do you think Max would want to practice today” she asks scratching the back of her neck 

_“I am not sure. I will go ask him” Christen says getting up and walking to Max’s room. “Max, Tobin is on the phone. She wants to know if you want to train today.”Christen asks leaning against the door frame_

_ “No. I still don’t like her. I don’t want to be her friend anymore” Max says going back to playing with her legos.  _

Tobin’s heart is breaking hearing this. She wants to do anything to make this boy not hate her anymore.

_ Christen mutes Tobin so she could talk to her son real quick. “Honey why are you mad at Tobin.” She says kneeling down to be eye level with him  _

_“Because she made you cry.”Max said_

_ “Honey, I know but she said sorry. Don’t let what happened between me and her ruin what you had together” Christen says standing back up _

_ “I still don’t want to train with her. I don’t need to be her friend.” Max said going back to his Legos hoping his mom would leave him alone.  _

_ Christen got up and walked back out to the living room. She unmuted Tobin. “I am sorry he isn’t budging. He is still upset about what happened at camp. I am sure he will come around”  _

“And you? Are you going to come around” she hopefully said 

_ “I am trying to.” Christen said with a small smile. “How was therapy?” _

“It was good. I really needed it. I think it really helped me. She gave me stuff to work on. I know I keep saying it but I am sorry about what happened. I know now isn’t the time to talk about it. But when you are ready I want to explain. I screwed up and I am going to do everything I can to prove that to you” Tobin says apologetically 

_ “I know you will Tobin. Next time we see each other maybe we can talk again without any runaways” Christen says laughing  _

“So tomorrow is Max’s birthday, any plans” Tobin asks feeling more comfortable now

_ “You remembered” Christen says surprised she had only told Tobin once, on a night when so much happened. _

“Of course I did. He means a lot to me and that is important to remember. I still remember yours. Its December 29th.” Tobin says matter a factly 

_ “Wow.No big plans just cake with him and Vero.” Christen says .  Tobin’s face drops at the mention of Vero. Christen sees it right away but now isn’t the time to dig into that topic. “I have to go make dinner, so talk to you later”  _

“Bye Chris” Tobin says as she hangs up the phone. 

•

Christen and Vero were gathered around the island in the kitchen getting the cake ready for Max. Christen spread the four candles out and than put the number 4 one in the center. 

“Max! Cake!” Christen shouted towards his room. Max comes running full speed down the hallway. Christen helps him get up on the stool and starts lighting the candles. 

She lights two of them when there is a knock on the door. Christen and Vero look at each other questionably, silently wondering who could be at the door. 

Christen walks over to the door, when she opens it up it she sees a man holding a package. “Jag har ett paket för Max.” He says

“Ja tack” Christen says as she grabs the package. She closes the door and walks back inside. “Max I have a package for you. It might be your presents from grandma and grandpa. Do you want to open it first or have cake” 

“Presents” Max shouts looking at Vero to help him down. Vero picks him up and placing him on the ground. He runs over to were Christen is sitting on the floor, the package sitting in front of her. 

“Mommy. Open. Open” Max says rocking back and forth. Christen opens up the package. She sees a card laying on top of it. Max tries to peak at what is in the box. 

“Hey we have to read the card first” Christen says closing the box back up so he can’t peak. 

“Happy Birthday” Christen reads, showing Max the front of the card that has a bunch of animals on it with party hats and balloons. She than opens the card. On the blank part she sees a bunch of hand written notes. When she glances on the right side she sees the signature at the bottom that says Love Tobin. 

“Its from Tobin.” Christen says looking at Max. “She wrote, Max I hope you have a great birthday that turns out to be as amazing as you are. I know you are mad at me, but you are still my little buddy. I hope you forgive me soon I miss you. Hope you are still practicing hard without me, and I hope you like your gift. Love Tobin.” 

Christen than opens the box. She looks over to Max wondering why he wasn’t moving. He was just sitting there with a blank expression. “Come on honey, don’t you see want to see what she got you”

He still doesn’t move. So she starts to take out whats in the box. The first thing is a pair of mini cleats. There is a post it note on it that says so you can have a matching pair to your mom. 

They were the same Nike cleats Christen wore for every game. That made Christen smile. The next thing she pulled out were a pair of shin guards. They looked home made and sure enough after reading the post it note that was confirmed. 

The shin guards were blue with sharks on them. “Mommy look sharks, my favorite” Max said finally getting into the gift opening and looking at them closely.

“I know Tobin made them for you” Christen said smiling at her little boy. This gets Max interested in what else was in the box. He starts grabbing stuff out if it. 

The remaining stuff that was in the box was a thorns away kit and home kit complete with the socks, shorts and Heath #17 jerseys. Sure enough there was one last post it note that said for when you forgive me, I want you to be decked out in the best gear. 

Max just sat there for a second. Before he got up and ran away into his room. “Max whats wrong. Where are you going” Christen said concerned as to why he just left. 

Christen couldn’t help but think how similar her little boy was to a certain brown eyed girl. Christen got up and followed him to his room. 

When she got to his door she heard quiet sobs coming from his room. 

So she walks over to his bed and lays down. She pulls him into her. “Baby what’s wrong why are you crying” There is silence for a little bit until Max can get out the words he wants to say

“Tobin” hiccup “going to” hiccup “hate me” He struggles to get out before he goes back to crying. 

“Oh honey, she won’t, she could never hate you. You are her best little buddy remember” Christen says kissing his forehead 

“But I was mean to her mommy. She is so nice to me. She give me awesome gift” Max says wiping the tears out of his eyes. “She just made you cry and made you sad”

“I know honey. I love that you stood up for me. But Tobin and I are friends again and she is really sorry about making me sad. So don’t be mad at her just because of me” Christen says looking Max in the eye “Why don’t we call her and you can thank her for the gift”

“Okay Mommy” Max says as Christen reaches in her back pocket for her phone. She pulls up Tobin’s contact. She clicks the FaceTime button and the phone starts to ring. 

*ring* *ring* *ring* *ring* 

There was no answer. So she tried just voice calling this time. 

*ring* *ring* *ring* *ring* 

Still no answer but this time her voice message starting playing. “Hey this is Tobin leave a message and I will trying to call you back” 

“Hey Tobs, please call me when you get a chance” Christen says hanging up the phone. 

Max starts crying again. “She isn’t answering because she hates me” Max tries to get out in between sobs. Christen just held her little boy tight not sure what to say to him. Tobin never missed their call, and she knows she doesn’t have practiced because of the red card. 

Max’s sobs start to die down a little bit when there is a knock on the door. Christen goes to answer it, unsure who it could be. She opens the door and is shocked to see who is on the other side. 

“Tobin” 


	6. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin is in Sweden. Tobin gets to talk to Max and a Christen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a filler chapter. But hope you guys like it.

“Tobin” 

“Hey Chris” Tobin said scratching the back of her neck. She was standing there in sweatpants, a orange Nike sweatshirt with her PDX snapback. In her right hand she was gripping her duffle bag and her left hand was in her pants pocket. 

She was standing there hoping Christen would say something or give her a sign that she didn’t make a big mistake just showing up unexpected and uninvited. 

But Christen just stood there silently. Mouth open and unmoving. She was in shock at what was standing in front of her. This was making Tobin even more nervous. 

“I guess I’ll just go. I shouldn’t have came” Tobin sadly said. As she started to turn around and walk away. She would call the Taxi back and head right back to the airport. 

“Wait!” Christen shouted “Wh-What are you doing here” Christen stuttered out. She was still in complete shock. 

Tobin turned back around. “I wanted to see you. And Max. After yesterday’s FaceTime call I just couldn’t take it anymore. So I packed a bag and found the earliest flight and here I am” Tobin said 

“I can’t believe you did that” Christen responded. Tobin still couldn’t tell how Christen was feeling about all of this. Which was causing her to be more nervous. 

“I am sorry. I know I should have called. I shouldn’t have just shown up at your front door. I am so stupid. Here I go again ruining everything” Tobin says. She feels herself losing control of her emotions. 

Christen reaches out and grabs the older girls wrist. “Hey you are not stupid. I am glad you are here. It is just a big surprise. What about the Thorns, you have practice” Christen says her hold still on Tobin

Tobin can feel herself calming down the second she feels Christens touch. “Red card suspension remember. And this was important.” Tobin says 

“Well come in.” Christen says moving out of the way so Tobin can walk inside. Tobin walks inside and immediately sees Vero sitting at the Island. She just froze and stared at her.

Again Christen noticed the change in Tobin as soon as Vero came about. “Tobin this is Vero, my friend on the team” Christen said, making sure to emphasize the word friend. 

Vero got up and walked over to the two. “Nice to meet you Tobin.” Vero said shaking Tobin’s hand. “I am going to head out Chris. I don’t think cake is happening anymore” Vero hugged Chris and walked out of the house. 

When Vero left Christen turned to Tobin and they just stood there frozen. She threw all caution to the wind and just lunged at Tobin giving her a big hug. “I can’t believe you are here, but I am so happy you are” Christen whispered in Tobin’s ear. 

“I am too Chris” Tobin whispered. She pulled away from Christen “Where is Max” she says looking around the room scratching the back of her neck. She wasn’t sure how he was going to feel about her being here, but she just wanted to see him. 

“He is in his room. He will be happy to see you” Christen said 

“Really” Tobin says shocked that Max would be happy to see her after yesterday. 

“Your birthday present really got to him.” Christen says 

A smile forms on Tobins face. “It came? I sent it last week but I didn’t know how long shipping would take, I was worried it wouldn’t get here in time. Did he like it” Tobin rambles off

“It came. Why don’t you go find out for yourself” Christen says looking down the hallway

•

Tobin walks down the hall and stops in front of the door with the letter M on it. She slowly opens the door, trying to stall as much as she can. When she gets it open a little bit, she heres quiet sobs coming from the bed. 

“M-M-Mommy did Tobin call back yet” Max sobs out. Tobin keeps walking closer to the bed. She walks around the bed to the side Max is laying towards. She kneels down. 

“No I didn’t call back” Tobin says

Max rips the blanket down from covering his face. He leaps up towards Tobin and wraps his arms around Tobin’s neck and gives her a bone crushing hug. 

The stay like that for a minute, or maybe longer, in silence before Max finally breaks it. 

“I sorry for being mean Tobi”

Tobin pulls back from the hug a little bit so she can look at the little boys face. She puts him on the bed the he can sit. She wipes the tears from under his eyes. “Its okay buddy” 

“You make mommy cry. You make her sad. So I be mean to you.” Max says 

Tobin gets up. Her knees were starting to hurt and sits next to Max on the bed. “I know buddy. I am so sorry I did that. I didn’t mean to. It made me sad that you were mad at me. But I could never be mad at you for that. It is really brave of you to stick up for your Mom” Tobin says putting her arm across his back to his shoulder to pull him in close to her. 

“She is the best Mommy ever. I don’t like her sad” Max said looking up at Tobin. 

“I don’t like her sad either. I promise I will do my best to never make her sad or cry again” Tobin vows 

“Okay” Max says “Are we still friends? Am I still your little buddy?” Max asks cautiously

“Of course. You will always be my little buddy.” Tobin exclaims

Unknowingly to Tobin and Max, Christen was standing outside the door listening to the whole conversation. It melted her heart hearing them talk to each other. 

It was hard for her after Max was born to bring people into her life because she was always scared they would leave and cause Max pain to see them disappear. 

She knew in this moment that she didn’t have to worry about that with Tobin. She could tell that Tobin cared about Max all on his own. She wasn’t just being nice to him because he was her son. She actually cares about the boy. 

I mean look, she got on a plane and flew all the way from Portland to Sweden for him. As much as she hopes a small part was to see her, she knew that the majority of her reasoning was to see Max. 

In this moment she felt like a teenager with a crush. The past month forgotten. She hoped that after Max went to sleep they could talk and finally put it all behind them and move forward. 

She knocked on the door, startling the two people from the bed. “Max do you still want to do your cake tonight? Or we can wait until tomorrow” Christen says

“Cake! Cake!” Max shouts, his mood has completely shifted back to the happy kid he usually is. He stands up off the bed grabbing Tobin’s hand and dragging her out of his room to the kitchen. “Come on Tobi. Hurry up” 

•

They sing Max happy birthday. “Make a wish and than blow out your candles” Christen says 

Max squeezes his eyes shut, makes his wish and than he blows the candles out. “What did you wish for” Tobin says 

“Tobin you silly. I can’t tell you. It won’t come true” Max says giggling. Christen and Tobin both start laughing as they can’t control it anymore. 

•

Christen let Max stay up way past his bedtime so he could spend time with Tobin. They decide to watch a movie. Max picked toy story. When the movie finished he begged to stay up longer but Christen put her foot down and told him he had to go to bed. 

“Can Tobi read me a story” Max asks 

“Of course” Christen says 

Tobin stands up from the couch with Max still attached to her and carries him to his room. She helps get him dressed in his pajamas. She gets him all tucked into his bed and he is cuddling with his teddy bear. 

“Tobi, when are you leaving.” Max mumbles into his teddy bear. 

“In a couple days. I am hoping we can hang out tomorrow” Tobin says

“Yes I want to” Max exclaims

Tobin smiles at him and starts to read the Dr. Suess book to him. Max was exhausted so he feel asleep a couple pages in. She closed the book and placed it on his night stand. She kissed his forehead “Goodnight buddy. I love you” Tobin says before she exits his room. 

She walks down the hall to where Christen is cleaning up the kitchen. “Um he is asleep. So I guess I will get out of your hair now” Tobin states.

“Where are you staying” Christen asks. A little sad that Tobin didn’t want to stay here. 

“Um I am not sure yet. But I will find a hotel close by” She says as she scratches the back of her neck. “I didn’t really plan anything I out”

“Tobin please stay here. You already paid for a flight here I don’t want you to spend money on a hotel too. The couch is pretty comfortable and I-I-I was hoping we could talk” Christen said

That is definitely not what Tobin wanted to hear. She wasn’t she if she was ready to talk. To be honest she didn’t know if she would ever be ready. But she figured she might as well get it over with. “Yeah. Okay. If you are sure” 

“I am” Christen smiles

“Can I shower. I feel gross from the plane” Tobin says. She hopes the shower will allow her nerves to calm down a little bit. As well as help her think if what she wants to say. 

“Of course. The first door on the right.” Christen says. Tobin grabs her duffle and heads to the bathroom. Christen finishes cleaning and than goes to change into something more comfortable before heading back to the living room. 

•

When Tobin was done with her shower she walked back out to the living room. Christen was sitting on the edge of the couch reading. Tobin went and sat at the other end of the couch. 

Christen closes her book and places it on the coffee table. She than turns towards Tobin and crosses her legs. This causes Tobin to do the same. 

“Before we start talking again I just want to say something.” Tobin blurts out first. Christen shakes her head. “I know I ran out last time we talked and I am so sorry. I can’t say it enough. I let my emotions and my anger get the best of me. You told me last time not to say anything and be quiet until you were done. My therapist said that me holding things in all the time is what makes me explode. So maybe can I say something and ask questions if I need to. I think that might help me. If not you can say no, I just” 

Christen cuts Tobin off “Tobin of course. I respect you for letting me speak last time. But this is a two way street, I want us both to be okay with where the conversation goes.” Tobin shakes her head. “So I guess I don’t really know where to start. But I guess I just want to know why you got so angry” 

“I was just getting angry at myself. I know its not my fault but I couldn’t help but blame myself.” Tobin looks straight in to Christen eyes “I just felt like maybe if I hadn’t been a bad texter, and kept in touch you could have avoided everything with Jackson.” 

“Tobin no stop you can’t think that. Please don’t think that” Christen says moving closer to Tobin. 

“I know I can’t. Talking to Sharon, my therapist, helped me see that it wasn’t my fault. But its hard not to think that if I had been there before and during, it all could have turned out better for you.” 

“Tobin please don’t take this the wrong way. But I think even if you were still texting frequently I would still have had sex with Jackson. It could have happened even more” Christen says playing with her fingers 

Tobin looks at her confused “What do you mean?” 

“Um Tobin y-y-you are the reason I was questioning my sexuality. When we played for the Pali Blues, I developed a huge crush on you” Christen nervously said 

“Oh. Me? You had a crush on me” Tobin stumbles over her words trying to get them out. 

“Yes Tobin” Christen laughs 

“I-I didn’t know. I always thought you were straight.” Tobin is in so much shock right now. She has no idea what to say. She could have had Christen years ago. Maybe if she wasn’t so oblivious like Kelley always says she is, maybe she realized that. 

“So did I until Pali Blues. Until you” Christen grabs Tobin’s hand. 

“Wow. I had a crush on you too. I just didn’t know how to tell you without possibly ruining our friendship” Tobin says. 

“I wish I could say what would have happened if you told me. But I honestly don’t know.” Christen wishes she could tell Tobin that they would have fell madly in love. But she doesn’t think she can. 

She was so confused after that season. She couldn’t be gay, that wasn’t what the world thought as normal. Would people think of her differently? Thats the whole reason Jackson happened. She wanted to change her feelings. 

But now she is so proud of who she is. Everyone she has told has been so accepting. When she told her parents, they just asked when she was going to bring a girl home. When she told Kelley she jumped around the room like a kangaroo saying “Me too! Me too!” After that she could never understand why it caused her so much pain and sleepless nights.

“So you let Jackson do” she paused “that because of me. Well not me but because you’re gay” Tobin said looking up. Wanting to make sure she was getting it right. Christen shook her head yes. 

“Okay so I guess why didn’t you text me after that? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been there for you.” Tobin says as she is playing with Christens fingers 

“I knew right after that night that I was one hundred percent gay. I wanted to tell you. But I was trying find the right words. By the time I found the right words it was to late. I found out I was pregnant. When I found that out my whole life went into a spiral. I didn’t know what was going to happen after Max was born. I knew you would have been there for me I just I didn’t know how to tell you.” Christen lets a tear drop. 

Tobin slides all the way over on the couch so she is now hugging Christen. “I understand. I couldn’t imagine what you were going through. I wish you didn’t feel so alone. I wish you felt like you had me. But I understand.” Tobin says pulling her close. 

“Thank You. Tobin it means a lot. It means a lot to me that you are here now” Christen says giving Tobin a kiss on the cheek. Tobin feels like her cheek is on fire where Christen lips just were. She starts to imagine what it would be like to get to kiss those soft pillowy lips. But she lets those thoughts go for now.

“I guess I have one more question. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.” Christen shakes her head

“Did he, Did Jackson ever hit you” Tobin whispers out. 

Christen’s mind flashes through every moment she had with Jackson. All of the bad memories floating back into her mind. She wishes she could push them away and never relive them. 

“No he never did. I never let it get to that point. I wouldn’t let it get to that point. I called the police before it ever got there. Because if he hit me, how I could I know he wouldn’t hit Max. I would never let that happen. I couldn’t live with myself if I ever let that happen.” Christen said looking up at Tobin. 

“Okay.” Tobin said unsure what to say next. “So after you left to Sweden kind of what was that like being all by yourself with Max” 

“It was hard in the beginning to be honest. But the team was really good and helpful with it.He was with me for the first year. But after the first season he stayed with my parents. I wanted him to have a little stability instead if having to travel everywhere with me. I also wanted him to be able learn easier. It would be harder here in Sweden than at home with my parents. I felt my parents could do better job raising him. I didn’t want him to be at a disadvantage in his life. I tried to visit him as much as I could. It was hard. During that year me and Vero got close, she helped keep my mind off wanting to quit soccer just so I could be with Max. We did end up dating for a little bit. After my second season I brought Max back with me because I missed him to much and I couldn’t stand being without him. It was tough to raise him by myself, but I love him with every ounce of my being and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world” Christen’s smile was so big. Her pearly white teeth showing wide.

“So you an Vero dated” Tobin cheekily says

“That is all you got from that” Christen says laughing

“No. but sort of.” Tobin laughs 

“You are something else. But yes we dated for a couple months. But it just didn’t work out we mutually agreed to end things and remain friends. She wasn’t ready to be a mom, and I could never fully commit to her because my heart was always somewhere else. So you can stop being jealous of her” Christen says as she pointedly looks down at her. 

Tobin’s mind is blown. How did Christen know she was jealous. She wasn’t jealous. Okay maybe she was just a little bit. 

“I am not” Tobin gasps

“Sure. So you know my dating history. Now how about yours?” 

Tobin completely freezes. She did not expect this conversation to go in this direction. She definitely was not ready to speak about it. “Um Chris I am not ready for this conversation yet. But um I guess my only serious relationship was with Shirley when I was at PSG.” She is nervous to say the next part in fear that Christen would judge her. “And than I guess just a bunch of random girls whose names I could never remember” 

Christen could tell how nervous Tobin was getting. She really wanted to know more but could tell tonight wasn’t the night. She wanted it to end on a good note so that tomorrow they could spend time together and enjoy it. 

Christen stood up from the couch fixed her shirt. She decides she wants to be bold, she is tired of thinking about all the consequences of her actions so she just goes for it. “I have seen your feet in action, maybe one day I can see those hands all those girls apparently can’t stay away from.” Christen winks at Tobin. Or well tries to wink, she closes both eyes so its basically at blink, and walks down the hall to her bedroom. 

Tobin just stared at her sauntering down the hallway, Tobin’s mouthed wide open in shock. Was Christen flirting with her? There is no way she could be. Right? 

But her making that comment after she talked about hooking up with a bunch of girls, definitely means she was talking about having sex with her. And than that wink, that wasn’t actually a wink, was so Christen in a nut shell.

Tobin couldn’t help but think back about the past 24 hours as she tried to fall asleep. 24 hours ago she definitely didn’t think she would be in Sweden, trying to go to sleep on Christen couch. 

She never understood those romantic movies Katie and Perry had forced her to watch as a kid until now. But here she is, she flew half way around the world to make some big grand jester and it was the greatest feeling in the world. Maybe she didn’t do it to win the girls heart, but she did it to win a little boy’s.

But hopefully in the future she could have that little boy’s moms love too. Their talk tonight went great and she felt so well with how it turned out. She didn’t get angry she was calm. She spoke her mind and let Christen speak hers. She fell asleep that night, and got the best sleep she had in weeks. She dreamt of Christen and Max, and the family she hopes the become one day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know and give your honest opinions on what you think of this chapter and story. I love seeing all the comments. I want to keep writing but I am sort of ruining out of ideas. Let me know if you have any.


	7. Me and Max

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Tobins time in Sweden. Her and Max get to spend some quality time together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter. I enjoyed this chapter.

The next morning when Christen’s alarm went off she felt so well rested and ready to take on the day. She got up took a shower and got her gear on for practice. She put a little extra make up on this morning hoping that maybe a certain brown-eyed midfielder would notice.

Normally she takes Max to practice with her and he sits in the stands and watches. Sometimes the coach will let him kick the ball around on the sidelines. But normally Max is bored. She figured him and Tobin would want to spend the day together so she would let them hang out today instead of bringing him to practice. 

She was going to start making breakfast and a pot of coffee for Max and Tobin to wake up to. She walked into the living room to wake Tobin up and make sure she was okay with the plan. 

She was not expecting to see what she walked into. Max was laying on top of Tobin. They were sharing a blanket and Max had the teddy bear tucked under his arm. Tobin had her arms wrapped tight around him. 

It was so precious. She couldn’t imagine ruining this moment and waking them up. She wanted to remember this moment forever. So she took out her phone and snapped a picture of the two of them. 

She may have put it as her wallpaper before she texted Tobin the pic and a little message to go along with it. 

** Chris: IMAGE **

** Chris: You guys looked to calm and comfy I couldn’t wake you up. I had to go to practice but spend the day together and have fun. But don’t have to much fun without me.  **

•

When Tobin wakes up her arm is asleep. She wants to move it but she doesn’t want to wake the sleeping boy. She decides to stay like that for a little longer. She uses her other hand to grab to her phone. 

She looks at the time, and than sees the message and picture from Christen. She smiles wide at the picture. She also sets the picture as her wallpaper. 

While she waits for Max to wake up she starts to plan what they could do while Christen is at practice. Maybe they could kick the ball around outside. They haven’t got to practice together in a couple weeks. 

•

When Max woke up, Tobin made them some cereal. Max ate quickly not wanting to waste the day away. When they finished Tobin told him to go get dressed. 

Tobin got ready quickly, and went back into the living room to wait for Max to come out. He was taking a long time to get read. Tobin was starting to get worried. 

She went to go knock on his door. But before she could he flung it open. He was standing there in the thorns full away kit. Jersey, shorts, socks. Tobin could even see the shinguards she made him slipping out of his socks. 

He had the cleats on that she gave him too. But they were untied. Tobin kneeled down and patted her knee so Max would put his foot up so she could tie them for him. When he was all set Tobin made him pose for some pictures. 

She took a couple and sent one to Christen so she could see it when she had a break from practice. 

** Tobs: IMAGE **

** Tobs: My number one fan, can’t wait to see him at an actual game.  **

•

“Okay Max you ready” Tobin asks 

“Yes I am ready” Max says

“Okay now what is the first step in the nutmeg” Tobin asks juggling the ball 

“Dribbling toward them. Make them go the opposite way you want to go to try and grab get the ball” Max confidently says 

“Correct. And than what” Tobin says smiling at him

“Once they go for the ball kick it through their legs” Max replies 

“Whats the last step” Tobin says kicking the ball up in the air so she can catch it in her hands. 

“Run around them and get the ball back. Either cross it or shoot it” Max says jumping for joy because he knows he got it all correct. 

“You got it all buddy. I think you are ready to try it on me” Tobin says putting the ball down in front of Max. 

Tobin runs backwards toward the goal, so that Max would have some room to start towards her. Max starts dribbling towards Tobin. 

In his head he is replaying the steps. As he gets closer he keeps repeating dribbling toward Tobin, get her to go to the left. So he does that, he gets right in front of her and goes towards the left. 

Tobin sticks her leg out towards the direction he was going. When Max kicks the ball through her legs. Than he runs around her and gets the ball. He keeps dribbling straight towards the goal they made up out of two trees. He shots and he scores. 

“Goalllll!” Max shouts running toward Tobin “Tobi I did it, I did it” 

Tobin runs towards him. She lifts him up in the air and spins him around. “You did buddy. I am so proud of you.”

•

They play around for about another half hour. They shoot around and play a little one on one. Tobin takes it easy on him and lets him nutmeg her every chance he got. 

She doesn’t try to avoid the nutmegs and she may have let him win, but she would do it over and over again to see the big and bright smile, and hear that little giggle. 

Out of nowhere it starts to down pour. Tobin doesn’t want to get in trouble with Christen for getting her son sick by letting him play in the rain. So she grabs his hand and the run back to the apartment. 

•

When they get back into the apartment they are both soak and wet. She figures that they should both shower and get into some warm and comfy clothes. 

“So buddy I think we should get cleaned up. Can you shower by yourself or do you need help?”

“Tobi I can’t shower yet. I to little. Mommy helps me take baths” Max says 

Tobin didn’t prepare for that. She didn’t think she would have to bath him. But she figured she would have to learn at some point. 

“Okay. I have never done this before buddy so you are going to have to work with me” Tobin says turning on the water to fill the tub. 

Max gasps in shock “You never took a bath. I love baths its like a mini swimming pool.” Max says.

Tobin laughs “I have taken baths, I just have never gave anyone a bath” 

When the bath is filled up. Max gets out of his clothes and hops in the tub. He starts playing with the little ducky, having it jump in the water. 

Tobin is nervous. Normally she just hops in the shower shampoos and conditions her hair. Than washes her body and its pretty simple. But is it different for a four year old? Can they use regular shampoo. 

“Okay Max what does your mommy do first” Tobin asks nervously. 

“Mommy washes my hair with the blue bottle.” Max says still focused on playing with his duck. 

Tobin looks over to the shelf. She sees the blue bottle and grabs it. She reads the bottle and it says kids on it. Now she feels stupid because if she just looked it would have been so obvious. 

She squeezes a dab of shampoo in her hand. She does about half of what she would use for her own hair. She rubs her hands together and than starts rubbing it in Max’s hair. She makes sure to get every inch of his hair. 

“That feels good Tobi” Max says closing his eyes enjoying the feeling. Tobin continues with that for a little longer before she grabs the cup on the side of the tub to wash it out. 

She puts her left hand on Max’s forehead, leans his head back a little bit, and starts pouring the water from the cup out on his head to wash the soap out. 

After his hair was all washed she took a wash cloth and cleaned the rest of his body. When he was all cleaned, he got out of the bath and Tobin helped him get all dried off. 

“Why don’t you go get dressed and I am going to shower quick. Than I will make us some lunch.” Tobin says as she is ushering Max out the door. 

•

When Max and Tobin are both clean and in warm clothes, they make there way to the kitchen to have some lunch. Tobin looks in the cabinets and in the fridge to see what she could make. 

She wasn’t the best cook so she didn’t have many options. She saw some bread and cheese so she figured some grilled cheese would be perfect. All kids loved grilled cheese. 

They eat their sandwiches in comfortable silence. Tobin is so content. She wishes she could have this everyday. But she knows she can’t. She leaves tomorrow night to head back to Portland and they stay here in Sweden for who knows how long. 

•

“Tobi want to play Lego with me?” Max says when he is finished eating his grilled cheese.

“Of course I do buddy. I love Legos” Tobin says. She cleans up the mess she made from cooking lunch and they headed down to Max’s room.

They are sitting down on the floor playing. Max is building a robot and Tobin is trying to build a boat. They are having so much fun. Every once in a while Tobin would steal one of Max’s pieces. Thus causing the boy to giggle and say “Hey those are mine, Tobi” 

“Tobin” Max says quietly while twirling a Lego in his hand. Tobin looks up from her creation to look at him. “Are you going to visit again.”

This breaks Tobin’s heart. She doesn’t know when she will be able to visit again. With it being season for the thorns and than the only times she would be on break with them, she hopefully will be called into the national team camps. 

“I don’t know buddy. But I promise if I can I will try my best to see you. And you know what hopefully your mom keeps getting called into national team camps and I can see you than” Tobin says hoping that answer will ease the boy in some way. 

He seems to take that as a good enough answer because he goes back to playing with his Legos. 

•

When Christen got home from practice she got started on dinner. Tobin offered to cook, but Christen denied it. Christen enjoyed cooking, it gave her time to relax unbothered. 

Christen made them a Chicken Scampi, with peppers and onions. Max insisted that Tobin had to sit next to him and they started eating. 

Christen noticed right away that Tobin was picking around the vegetables. She couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. This causes Tobin to look up and raise her eyebrows at a Christen.

“You are worse than my kid, eat your vegetables” Christen says 

“Yeah Tobi eat them. They are so good. They keep you strong” Max says shoving a fork full of his dinner in his mouth. 

Tobin huffs but puts the vegetables on her fork and eats them. I guess she has to set a good example even if she doesn’t like them. At least Christen wasn’t vegan. She didn’t know if she could handle that. Vegan’s have such a warped sense of what tastes good. 

During dinner Tobin let her mind wander. She thought back to when she was a kid and her parents always made sure they had dinner together if they were home. 

Dinner every night was at the dining room table and they ate as a family as much as they could. She never thought about how much that meant to her until now. How much she couldn’t wait to do that with her own one day. 

Tobin always knew she wanted a family. But it was always in the back of her mind. On the back burner until she finished playing. But sitting here now with Christen and Max, she wanted that. She thinks she even wants that right now. Maybe she didn’t have to wait until after her playing career to start the family she always dreamt of. 

•

After dinner Max wants to watch another movie. Tonight he wanted to watch big hero 6. He insisted that Tobin had to sit in the middle. They all shared a blanket and were cuddled in close. 

In the middle of the movie Christen was bored. She had seen this movie a million times. So she slide her hand under the blanket and started to poke Tobin, who seemed to be just as into the movie as Max was. 

Tobin looks over at Christen with raised eyebrows, silently asking her what was wrong. 

“Talk to me I’ve seen this movie a million times” Christen whispers. Tobin looks at Christen, than back towards the movie. Clearly indicating she was into it and wanted to watch it. 

“Ugh fine. You are unbelievable. We can talk after the movie” Christen said rolling her eyes. 

“Mommy shush” Max says 

Tobin laughs and looks at Christen. “Yeah mommy shush” Tobin says as she goes back to watching the movie. 

•

After the movie is over and Max is asleep in bed, Tobin and Christen find themselves in the same position as last night. Except tonight there are no nerves or awkward energy. 

“So what” “I have” Tobin and Christen both said at the same time. “You go first Christen said” 

“So when does your season end here? What are you doing after that?” Tobin asks

Christen smiles “Thats actually what I wanted to talk to you about. My season ends in July and so does my contract. My agent is trying to see if any teams will take me in the NWSL..” Christen says waiting to see what Tobin’s reaction would be. 

Tobin’s beautiful smile shines bright after hearing that. She wants to asks what teams. But she is nervous of the answer. What if its all the way on the east coast. But than she reminds herself that the east coast is closer than Sweden. 

So she asks anyway “Portland?” She nervously says. 

Christen’s heart hurts a little. “Sadly not Portland. You guys have Alex, so you don’t need me. Write now its between Houston, Utah and Chicago. I told my agent Utah is my top choice. But you can’t tell anyone yet, not until its all finalized. Especially not Max. I don’t want him to get his hopes up to have them be crushed.” 

Tobin’s smile grows at those words. As much as she would love them to be in Portland, she understands that’s not an option right now. She really hopes Christen gets Utah, that is only a two hour flight. It would be easy to do that on bye weeks, or just even random drop byes. 

“I am so happy for you Chris, it will be our secret.” Tobin says leaning over to give Christen a hug

•

The next morning Christen woke up to her alarm. Even though Tobin was here she wanted to keep to her normal game day routine. She got up and grabbed her yoga mat. 

She laid the mat down in front of her bed. She was almost done when she heard a loud crash. So she listened closely to see what would follow that noise. 

“Shit” Tobin exclaimed

“Tobi that is a bad word” Max said following Tobin’s bad word. 

Christen couldn’t help but laugh. Now she was curious to know what was happening out there. She figured not doing one pose wouldn’t affect her to much. She rolled up her mat, put it away and walked down the hall.

When she opened her bedroom door it definitely smelled good. They must be trying tomake breakfast. As she got closer she could hear the two whispering back and forth to each other. 

When she got within view if the two, Max started to shout. “No mommy go away its not ready for you yet” 

“But I heard a loud noise and shouting is everything okay, what happened?” Christen asks 

“Nothing happened, everything is fine” Tobin rushed out, but at the same time Max said “Tobi dropped a plate and it broke”

Tobin gasps “Max what the heck buddy that was supposed to be our secret” 

“Oops” Max says

Christen laughs as she goes to take a seat at the island. When she sits down Tobin walks over with a mug of coffee and places it in front of her. Than she comes back with a plate filled with avocado toast, two strips of bacon and 2 sunny side up eggs. 

“This is my game day meal. How did you know?” Christen asks looking at Tobin. She was so surprised 

“I had my little man to help me” Tobin said, ruffling the little boys hair like it was no big deal she just made her breakfast. 

But to Christen it was definitely a big deal. Tobin was spoiling her and treating her like a queen. Christen could no longer deny it, it was definitely no longer a little crush, it was a huge crush. 

•

Tobin had never felt her mouth go try and watching a soccer game. In any of the game she watched she never found any of the woman attractive until now. 

Sitting here watching Christen dribble past defenders left and right. Scoring beautiful goals that you only see in the highlight reals. She was breathe taking. 

If Kelley was here she would say she needed to go take a cold shower. But Kelley wasn’t here so she was going to enjoy it. She was definitely getting turned on right now. 

She tried to tell herself it was only happening because she hadn’t had sex in a couple months. She wouldn’t call herself a slut, but when she was horny all she had to do was go to the bar down the street and after a few minutes she would have a girl on her arm andthey would go back to her place.

She hasn’t felt the need to do that recently and she thinks maybe it has to do with Christen, but it is definitely taking a toll on her right now. 

If it wasn’t for Max sitting next to her to bring it back to reality she would probably have to step away to the bathroom. 

•

After the game they went out for pizza. It was a tradition for the two Press’. After every game they would go out somewhere to eat. Usually it ended up being something that wasn’t on the approved diet list, but Christen figured one cheat meal after a hard fought game wouldn’t hurt. 

They ended up getting a plain cheese pie and Christen ordered a side of fries. Tobin remembers back to there Pali Blue days and Christen was obsessed with fries. She always said she would eat them for every meal if she could. 

Tobin and Max were rambling on about something Christen had no idea what it was. When the waitress came over with the pizza and fries. 

“du har en söt familj” (you have a cute family) the waitress said 

Christen smiled at the two people across from her and look at the waitress before she said “jag gör inte jag” (I do, don’t I) Christen probably should have corrected the waitress, but if she was being honest she didn’t want to, because she wanted it to be true.

•

Tobin had just finished reading Max his bed time story. She got up out of the bed and tucked the blankets into him. She made sure his teddy bear was right next to him. 

“I won’t be here when you wake up in the morning buddy. I have to go back tonight.” Tobin solemnly says 

“I don’t want you to go Tobi. I will miss you” Max says. His face looks so sad like he is on the verge of crying. 

“I know buddy. But I have to. I am going to miss you too. So much.” Tobin says. She honestly feels like she could cry to

“Can we still talk everyday?” Max questions 

“Anytime you want to talk to me you just tell your mom and I will answer. If I don’t answer right away I will back as soon as I can” Tobin says 

“Okay. I love you Tobi” Max says before closing his eyes. 

Tobin leans down and kisses his forehead “I love you too buddy” Tobin says. She goes to turn the light off and close the door. 

•

Tobin is standing in the foyer with her duffel bag in her hand. She wishes she didn’t have to leave. She had such a great time the past couple days. 

“I can’t believe you kept that teddy bear all these years.” Tobin smiles and says

“You won it for me, of course I did. But than I couldn’t get rid of it because Max loves it so much.” Christen says

“Does he know I am the friend that gave it to you?” Tobin asks

“No he doesn’t, but if he did he would probably love it even more” Both Christen and Tobin laugh at that statement because it was so true. 

Tobin’s phone dings signifying that her taxi was here. Christen opens up her arms to engulf Tobin in a hug. The hug is only a couple seconds but feels longer and neither one of them want it to end. 

“I really want to kiss you right now” Tobin whispers

Christen pulls back from the hug to look at Tobin. She looks down at her lips and than up to Tobins eyes. “I want to, too” 

That is all the confirmation Tobin needs to lean in and kiss Christen. It is better than she could have ever expected. It was simple and innocent. But it was definitely the best kiss she has ever had. 

They break apart far to quickly for either of their likings when Tobin’s phone goes off again. “I have to go” 

“I know” Christen says 

Tobin starts to back away towards the door. “When you move back to the states and are settled, I am taking you out on a date. So don’t go find anyone else” Tobin says shooting Christen her charming smirk and a wink before she walks out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like the ending. Hope it didn’t feel rushed.


	8. New beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of their fairytale romance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to update. But I think this chapter will be worth it. As always feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, ideas, and constructive criticisms.

It has been about a week since Tobin has gotten back from Sweden. She felt like a whole new person than the week prior to her visit.

Max would Facetime her at least once a day, sometimes twice if something really cool happened to him after they already talked. Most days she would also get to FaceTime Christen just the two of them after Max had already gone to sleep. 

They even texted as much as they could. There also may have been some light flirting going on. But it was all super innocent, as if they were in high school. 

Tonight she has a game against the Royals. She was no longer on her red card suspension so she would be able to play. Mark had told her he was happy with her attitude and how she practice this week so she would get to start. 

After the game her, Alex and Kelley were going to go out to a bar for some food and drinks. She hoped they won tonight or else she probably would be super bummed when they went out. 

•

It was a tough fought game, but it ended in a 2-2 tie. Tobin got an assist but she still wish she could have done more. But she figured a tie was better than a loss, so she would try her best to enjoy the night. 

They went to a small bar a couple blocks away from the stadium. Tobin order a burger and fries. But she wish she hadn’t because the fries just made her think of Christen. 

If she was being honest she just wanted to go home and talk to her. But she knew she couldn’t neglect her friends. She just hoped she would get home in time to catch Christen before she went to practice. 

It was like any other night at the bar for the three of them. The drinks keep flowing and the girls kept drinking. The girls kept coming to the table as usual trying to get Tobin on the dance floor with them. 

But Tobin kept turning them down. That was shocking to the two girls across from her. After Tobin turned down the third girl, they both stared at her with raised eyebrows. 

Tobin looked up from her drink to see the two girls staring at her. “What” she asks

“Are you okay? Thats like the fourth girl you have turned down tonight” Alex asks

“Yeah I am fine. Just not into them” Tobin says nonchalantly and takes another sip of her beer. 

“Not into them or not into hooking up” Kelley asks

“Both I guess” Tobin says. But she knows exactly what is going on in her mind. She isn’t into any of those girls because she is only into Christen. Ever since their kiss she can only think about Christen. No other girl has crossed her mind. 

If she was being honest no girl has crosses her mind since they saw each other again. 

Alex and Kelley share a knowing look, because as much as Tobin thinks she isn’t an open book. They can read her like one. They are both sure this more than likely has to do with a certain star forward who happens to be in Sweden at the moment. 

•

“Max come to the Living Room I want to talk” Christen shouts down the hallway to get Max out of his room. 

Max comes barreling down the hall into the living room. But when he sees his moms face his mood drops. He starts to get nervous. “Am I in trouble” he asks nervously, racking his brain trying to find anything he has done wrong recently. 

“No sweetheart. You aren’t in trouble. Mommy just wants to talk to you about something.” Christen tries to ease her sons mind. Max doesn’t say anything but looks up at Christen. 

She takes that as her sign to continue. “So what would you think about moving? If we left Sweden?” Christen cautiously asks

“It’s okay. I don’t have friends here.” Max says. That breaks Christens heart, she knows it has been tough for him here in Sweden. “Where would we move?” 

“To the United States” Christen says. She doesn’t want to tell him to much at once. She wants fo avoid overwhelming him. 

“Like with Grandma and Grandpa?” Max says excitedly. He always loved when they got to stay there in the off season, or when Christen let him visit. 

“Not exactly. It would be closer to them but not with them.” Christen says smiling a little that he seems okay with the idea. 

Max starts to think a little confused. Why would they move there and not live with them. Than he gets an idea “with Tobin” he says

Christen thinks to herself I wish. “No, but close. If we move we would get to see her a lot more than we do now.” She says 

Max just stares at her “Mommy I confused” 

“So Mommy got offered to play on a team in the league Tobin plays in. But its not on the Thorns. On the Royals, where Aunt Kelley plays” Christen says 

Max smiles. “For real” Max asks. Christen shakes her head yes. After seeing that confirmation Max hugs his Mom. Christen lets a little tear drop. She thinks this is going to be so good for both of them. It’s just a little overwhelming for her. 

She reaches her hand behind the Pillow to grab something. When Max pulls away she holds it in front of him. It is a small Utah Royals Jersey with Press and the number 23 on the back. 

“Can I put it on” Max says excitedly as he grabs the Jersey and starts putting it on. Once he gets it on, he looks down at it an smiles so brightly. Christen doesn’t know if anyone would ever be as excited for her success as him. 

“Can we call Tobi and tell her” Max says 

“How about we take some pictures. I think she might be busy right now and I am not sure she can answer” Christen says 

Max agrees and they start to take some photos. Max wanted to tell her right away and she couldn’t turn him down. She knew the girl was at practice but when she got out she could see it. 

**Chris: IMAGE**

**Chris: I think you might be losing your number one fan. He has a new Jersey. I guess he can still cheer for you as long as its not against me.**

•

Tobin walks into the locker room after practice and picks up her phone. She sees that Christen sent her a message. When she opens it she is complete shock. 

She doesn’t even think before she is calling the girl. It rings and rings and Tobin thinks she will end up going to voicemail because Christen is asleep. 

She is about to give up. “Hey Tobs” Chris says in a quiet and groggy voice. It sounds like she was sleeping and Tobin is beating herself up for waking the girl. 

“I am sorry I woke you. I just. I” Tobin says before she gets cut off by Christen. 

_“Tobs. Its okay. I feel asleep. But I was waiting to hear from you.” Christen says trying to reassure the girl on the other end of the line._

“Is it for real? Are you coming back” Tobin cautiously asks

_“Yeah it is. Starting in August I will be a royal.” Christen says smiling. She couldn’t be more excited for the new adventure she was about to embark on._

“Chris, I am so happy for you. But I hope you are prepared to lose when we play you” Tobin says while laughing on the other side. 

_“I think its you that needs to prepare. Don’t forget I remember how much of a sore loser you are” Christen says_

“If you could see me right now, you would see me sticking my tongue out at you and rolling my eyes” Tobin huffs out

_“I wish” Christen says letting out a yawn. “Tobs can we talk more tomorrow?”_

“Of course. Goodnight Chris. I am really happy for you” Tobin says 

_“Goodnight” Christen says as she hangs up the phone._

•

The next couple weeks were busy for Christen. With the season ending and packing up everything in Sweden to move was exhausting. Utah had found a condo close to the stadium for them to move into.

Christen was having all the stuff moved there so it would be ready when she got there to move in. Christen had about a week until than so she figured she could visit her parents.

Max had missed them and wanted to see them. If she was being completely honest she wanted to as well. She had always been close to them, so it was tough when she moved to Sweden and couldn’t see them. 

“Grandpa come on. I want to show you the tricks Tobi taught me” Max said grabbing his ball and his grandpas hand to go outside. 

Christen could feel eyes on her and knew it was coming. The moment Max said her name, she knew the talk from her mom was coming. 

“Tobi?” Her mom questioned her with raised eyebrows. 

Christen rolls her eyes. “Come on mom.” Christen whines 

“Don’t come on me. You have barely talked to me in months. Who is Tobi?” Stacey asks. She had an inkling who Tobi was but she wanted tohear it straight from her daughter. 

“You know its Tobin mom” Christen says. She was originally going to ignore her mom. But she actually has been wanting to talk about it with someone. She thinks her mother is the perfect person. 

“Oh yeah? Max seems to have learned a thing or two from her?” Stacey says beating around the bush to the question she really wants answers to. 

“Yes he has. Every Tuesday they have lessons. Stop beating around the bush and ask what you really want to know mom” Christen says just wanting her mom to get to the point. 

“Are you guys together now because you know you need to be sure that she knows you are a package deal with Max. He can’t get attached to her than to have her leave” Stacey says as if Christen hadn’t thought of that everyday and night for the last month. 

“We are not together Mom we just reconnected. We kissed once but that was it” Christen started in before she realized what she had just let slip. Cursing herself for not thinking through what she was saying. 

“You what?!? You kissed! When?” Her mom shouted. 

“When she came to Sweden to visit. It was an innocent kiss, to say someday maybe” Christen said

“When did she go to Sweden, you seem to have left out that vital piece if information” Stacey said

“She surprised us for Max’s birthday. I had no idea she was coming. Max was mad at her, and she wanted to make it right. To answer your question from early she knows Max and I are a package deal. To be honest I think she likes Max more than me. Max loves her, so I know I need to tread lightly because I don’t know how he would take losing her. Which is why I am so skeptical to act on my feelings mom” Christen says

“Chris you have had a crush on this girl for almost five years, if it is still there go for it. Obviously take it slow and at your own pace. But you deserve every bit of happiness I can see Tobin is already bringing to you and Max.” Stacey said reaching out to grab Christens hand. “I think you both need to talk and see where your heads are at. If you both are serious about giving it a real go. Don’t hesitate”

Christen takes in the words her mom said. Making sure she really understood it. But before she could respond she heard Max and her dad opening the door.

She would have to continue this conversation with her another time. But having it really gave her a bunch of stuff to think about.

•

Max really wanted to see Tobin and watch her play a game. So here they were on a flight to Portland for one night so that could happen. After that they would be off to Utah. 

Tobin insisted that they stay at her apartment and that they let her pick them up from the airport. So that is what currently was happening. 

They were walking towards the exit looking around for her. Max must have found her because he took off running. Causing Christen to freak out for a second until she saw Tobin pick up her son.

A smile broke out on her face. She was staring at the brown eyed girl in front of her. Christen thinks that Tobin gets more attractive every time they see each other. 

Tobin looks up and a smirk comes across her face when she notices the girl staring at her. Instead of looking away they both continue to look at each other, getting lost in the others eyes. 

They are broken out of their trance by none other than Max. “Tobi you are going to kick but tonight. Chicago is going down” He says

“Thanks buddy. I know I am going to do awesome because I have you here to watch me.” Tobin says giving him a kiss on the check. 

•

Tobin as promised kicked butt that night. She scored a goal and had an assist. After the game she quickly showered and was rushing to get dressed. She wanted to see her two favorite people. 

But of course Alex and the team had other plans. “Tobin if I knew you were going to show off for your girl I would have made sure she was here sooner” Alex said patting her on the shoulder 

“She is not my girl” Tobin said 

“I don’t know Tobin that little kiss you blew to her says otherwise” Sinclair said

“Sincy I am hurt that you are part of this” Tobin gasps “that was for Max. I promised I would score a goal for him” 

“So you could score with his mom” coughed Allie

“All of you shut up. I am leaving” Tobin says grabbing her bag and walking out of the locker room. 

•

After the game and the three of them were back at Tobin’s apartment Max insisted they watch Wall-e. He also insisted again that Tobin sits in the middle.

They were all cuddled again under the blankets. Halfway through the movie Tobin just wanted to be closer to Christen in anyway possible. 

So she started to play with her fingers under the blanket. But after a little while that wasn’t enough anymore. So she decided to slot her fingers through Christens. 

When that happened they both looked at each other with smiles that couldn’t get any bigger. They went back to watching the movie but continued to hold hands through the whole thing. 

Tobin never knew holding hands could make her feel like this. Make her feel like everything in the world disappeared. Make her feel special. Make her feel like she was something more than the bad she once let roam free. 

When the movie ended, Max was sound asleep leaning against the edge of the couch. “You guys can have my bed. Ill take the couch” Tobin said 

“Tobin I am not taking your bed” Christen whispered.

“I insist. I will carry him in.” Tobin said. She got up and scooped Max up. One arm under his head and the other under his knees. She carried him to her bed and got him all settled under the covers. 

She kissed him on the forehead. When she turned around Christen was standing by the door. Tobin walked over to her. “Goodnight Chris” 

“Goodnight Tobs” Chris said. She gave Tobin a quick peck on the lips. When she realized what she did her checks turned bright red and she closed the door so fast on Tobin. 

She couldn’t believe she just did that. She just kissed Tobin again on the lips. She was so embarrassed. 

On the other side of the door, Tobin couldn’t believe that just happened but she definitely was not complaining. 

•

Max, Christen and Tobin were currently sitting in an empty condo waiting for all of Christen’s stuff to arrive from the moving company. Kelley was going to come help to, but she was late as usual. 

Tobin was not help Christen had in her plan. But when Tobin would not take no for an answer and bought a plan ticket without her knowing she wasn’t going to be able to stop her.

She needed all the help she could get. She wouldn’t tell Tobin this but, Tobin was stronger than her so she was going to make her and Kelley move all the heavy stuff. 

Kelley and Tobin were carrying Christen’s mattress to put on her bed when Kelley couldn’t hold it in anymore. “You know you never offered to help me move” 

“Thats because I don’t like you” Tobin said laughing as she walked out if the room.

“You hurt me Heath, you really wound my soul” Kelley shouts after her. 

After they had finished moving in all the big stuff, and ate some dinner, Kelley had left for the night. It was now just the three of them unpacking boxes trying to place things where Christen would like them. 

Tobin is unpacking a box that has a bunch of pictures in them. She can’t help but look and study each one. She is trying to commit them to memory. 

“Tobin stop looking at all the pictures you are taking forever” Christen says laughing

“I can’t help it. Max was so cute.” Tobin says

Tobin goes back to unpacking the box. When she gets down to the last photo, it was definitely not what she expected to see. It was a photo of her and Christen after there last Pali Blue game. 

“Well, Well, Well, Ms. Press” Tobin says 

“What?” Christen asks not sure what Tobin will say. 

“Someone has kept a picture of me all these years. I know I am good to look at but I didn’t think I would be framed in your house.” Tobin teasingly says. 

Christen face turns bright red for the second time in 24 hours. She grabs the photo from Tobin’s hand and walks away towards her bedroom. 

“Good idea, put in on your night stand so you can look at my beautiful face every morning” Tobin shouts down the hallway, unable to control her laughing. 

•

The next month flew by for the two. Christen was getting settled into Utah and she was loving it. Max had started at a pre-school and was going to start soccer soon. Tobin was killing it out on the field. 

Although they were unable to see each other in person, they FaceTimed all the time. It was so much easier to stay connected now that they didn’t have the time difference to worry about. 

Christen thought everything was perfect until Max came home crying. Her little boy rarely cried so seeing him crying was really concerning to her. 

“Max baby whats wrong” Christen asks as soon as they get home.

“They mean” Max says still sobbing

“Who is mean?” Christen asks

“The kids” Max says leaving his moms arms to go into his room.

Christen doesn’t know what to do to fix this. She is panicking. Are kids bullying her son? Why would they bully him? She was about to breakdown and cry. 

She didn’t know what to do so she called Tobin. As soon as Tobin picked up the phone and said hello Christen broke down. Tobin was her safe haven lately, and she knew that Tobin would be there for her. So she just let it all out. 

“Chris, what’s wrong” Tobin asked from the other end of the phone. She wanted to know why Chris was crying. 

“Kids. School. Mean. Max. Crying.” Christen says in between sobs. Or at least that is all Tobin can make out from the younger woman. 

“Chris honey. I need you to breathe with me okay. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.” Tobin said as Christen followed suit, trying to do what Tobin said. 

“Okay now how about you tell me again.” Tobin softly says 

“Max came home crying. He said the kids were mean to him. But he won’t talk to me. He just went into his room and started crying and I don’t know what to do.” Christen finally says. It takes her a little bit to get going but once she does she starts to ramble. 

“What if I tried to talk to him? Maybe he will talk to someone who isn’t his mom?” Tobin asks. She doesn’t want to overstep, but that is the only thing she can think of to help the situation. 

“Okay” Christen says as she walks to Max’s room and opens the door. She can still hear Max crying. She just walks over to Max, hands him the phone and walks out of the room. 

“Hello” Max sobs out

“Hey buddy. Whats wrong?” Tobin asks 

“They wouldn’t let me play soccer with them. Than they laugh at me and say I have no friends” Max sobs out

“Aww buddy I am sorry that they won’t let you play. You do have friends buddy. You have Ryan and Jrue and me” Tobin says trying to cheer the boy up. 

“But not at school.” Max says 

“You will make friends buddy. Did you know kids were mean to me in school?” Tobin said

“They were?” Max questions 

“Yeah they were they use to make fun of the way I dressed and the way I looked. It made me sad but you know what got me through?” Tobin says

“What?” Max asks the tears have subsided for now. 

“Soccer. Whenever they were mean to me or didn’t want to play with me, I would just grab a ball. I would practice juggling, or trying to do the rainbow. I would practice shooting. Than I found my true friends on my soccer team and it was awesome” Tobin said 

“Do you think when I play soccer my team will like me?” Max asks 

“Of course buddy you are so good and I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to be your friend. Those kids are missing out. I also heard Ryan is going to be on your team so that will be fun.” Tobin said 

“Yeah it will be.” Max said excitedly. “I wish you could be there for my first game” 

“I wish I could to buddy” Tobin says 

•

Tobin always knows God is with her and watching over her. She knows he has a path set for her. It is once again proven when the Thorns match in Utah just so happens to be the day after Max’s first soccer game. 

She gets Marks approval to not travel with the team and go down a day earlier. She can’t wait to see their faces when she surprised them.

When she arrives at the game it has just started. As she walks up she can see Max and Ryan running down the field and it brings a smile to her face. 

Ryan steals the ball from someone on the other team. He runs down the field with the ball and passes it to Max who lines up his shot and lets it fly right into the back of the net. 

Max and Ryan high five and go back to line up. Tobin looks around the sideline for Christen and Amy. When she spots them she walks up behind them. 

“Your sons have a great connection. Other teams should be worried.” Tobin said

“Yeah they do” Christen says not looking away

“Its going to be that best friend connection” Amy said 

“I can already see it. Kids of former women’s national team stars take on the world” Tobin says hoping maybe it would get the woman to realize it was here. 

Both Amy and Christen look away from the game for a second to look at the woman and than back at the game before it clicked who it was. 

“Tobs” Christen jumped at her to give her a hug.When they let go, Amy takes her turn to give Tobin a hug. 

“What are you doing here” Amy asks

“Figured I would come a day early to see those little rascals play in their first game” Tobin says looking out onto the field. 

When the game ended Tobin wanted to hold off the surprise a little longer so she hid behind Amy and Christen. The boys ran over to their moms. 

“Mommy did you see me.” Max said 

“I did buddy, you did so good” Christen said 

“Mommy I scored a goal” Ryan said 

“You did just like your mom does” Amy said 

Tobin taps both the woman’s shoulders, telling them she wants the surprise over now. She wants to see them. 

“We have a surprise for you guys, close your eyes” Amy says. The boys do as they were told and closed their eyes. Tobin moves from behind the woman to squat in front of the two boys. 

“Okay open” Tobin says. The boys open their eyes. It took them a second to realize who was in front of them. 

“Tobi” Max shouted as both boys jumped towards Tobin and gave her a big hug their arms wrapped around her neck. 

After the boys let go, they took Tobin out to the field so they could kick the ball around. Christen was just staring at them, watching in awe of how good she was with them. 

“She is really good with kids. She used to be the only one on the team that Ryan wouldn’t cry for” Amy said looking at Christen staring at Tobin. 

“She is. Max loves her” Christen says looking towards Amy. 

“She is ready, if thats what you are worried about” Amy says. 

Christen knew Tobin would step up if they ended up getting together. She never had that concern. Since day one Tobin has put Max above all else. It was getting tougher and tougher to hold back from Tobin. 

•

The Thorns made it to the final. They were playing the courage at home. Tobin hoped that having the home field advantage would give them the edge they needed to win. 

She wanted to win the championship so bad. They deserved it. She deserved it. She put so much effort into this season. 

She also wanted to win because Max and Christen were coming to watch the game. After the game they were going to spend the week together before they had to go national team camp. 

She bought an air mattress for Max to sleep on in her office/art room so him and Christen didn’t have to share a bed for the whole week. 

She bought all of his favorite cereal and foods. She made sure to have everything Chris had said he liked. She also made sure to get the stuff she knew Chris would like to. 

She was also so nervous. She wanted it to be perfect. She figured if this went great than Christen would want to date her and it would help them move forward. 

She made sure her house was spotless, the beds were made, bathroom clean before she left for the game. When she got to providence park she got into game mode. She read her bible and prayed to God. 

It was the 13th minute when Sinc passed her the ball. Tobin drove forward down the flank. She looked up and saw Alex running right into the 18. She crossed it. Alex one touched it right into the box. 

The crowd went wild. Tobin rain straight to Alex. Followed by the whole team for a group up. 

In the 42nd minute the courage evened it all up, on a long ball over our backline causing a one on one against AD. It just slipped past her hands into the goal. 

They went into halftime 1-1. Tobin didn’t listen to anything Mark was saying. She was trying to visualize the game. Visualize what she could do to score. How she was going to break down the courage defense. 

In the 65th minute she thought it was about to all be over. The courage came out for the second half firing on all cylinders. Tobin doesn’t think she touched the ball at all in the second half. 

There was a bad tackle by a Thorn defender in the penalty box. Penalty shots are so hard for a goalie to save. But when the shot left the courage players foot, AD read it perfectly and saved it.

This brought a new life to the Thorns, a new life to Tobin. In the 87th minute Tobin got the ball about 30 yards out from the box. She was dribbling down the field when a defender was coming straight towards her. 

She nutmegged her, running past her to regain possession of the ball. She continued towards the goal. She got to the 18 yard box when another defender was placed in front of her. 

She faked right and than went left leaving a wide open shot. She shot the ball straight at the goal. When she heard the swish of the net and the crowd go wild she dropped to her knees. 

If they could just make it 5 more minutes they would have that trophy they would be champions. 

That they did. They hunkered down and played defense until the final whistle blew. That was it. The Thorns were the NWSL champions. 

After the medal ceremony Tobin walked over the where she was supposed to meet Chris and Max. 

As soon as she saw them she picked Max up. He started to play with and look the medal. He was amazed by it. Tobin used the free hand that wasn’t holding Max to remove the medal from her neck. She than put it over the boys head so he could wear it. 

“Tobi you won. You did so good. You nutmegged. You scored. You the best” Max says happily still looking at the medal. 

Chris walks over to hug the two of them. “You did really good today Tobs. You deserve it.” Christen says in her ear. “But don’t get used to it, next year that trophy is mine.”

•

The next night it was after Max bad gone to bed. It was just Christen and Tobin on the couch watching some soccer game as background noise. 

Chris was laying into Tobin’s front, and they were just talking about anything and everything. Something was starting to weigh on Tobin though. 

There was still something Christen didn’t know about. Tobin needed, and wanted to tell her. Tobin knew they couldn’t go forward until she did. But Tobin didn’t know how to bring it up.

“Chris” Tobin says as she pauses. “Remember when you asked about my relationships and I said I wasn’t ready. I think I am ready now. Or ready as I will ever be” 

“Tobs if you aren’t ready you don’t have to” Christen says looking up over her shoulder at Tobin. 

“I know. But I want you to know. You deserve to know.” Tobin says playing with Christen’s finger. “So when I was at PSG, I was dating a girl named Shirley. It was like a fairytale romance at first. We moved in together after about 6 months. After a year I thought she was the one and I was ready to propose. I even bought a ring.” 

Christen stiffens at that. But Tobin continues on still playing with Christen’s fingers. “I never got the chance to propose. After the NWSL started and I came back it all went down hill. She tried to make me feel guilty that I wanted to put my career first. But it was like I had to choose to worsen my career for hers to grow. That just started a lot of fights. I felt like I was living on a plane going back and forth trying to prove to her I wanted her and I want this to work.” Tobin pauses. She was getting closer the part she was worried about.

“She started to accuse me of cheating. If I didn’t answer right away. If she saw a photo of me out with the team. If she saw a photo of me with a fan. Chris you have to know I would never cheat. That’s not me I would never do that.” Tobin frantically says 

“Hey I know you wouldn’t. You are too good for this world.” Christen said 

“So that lead to me trying to visit more. It was really draining on me. The last time I went to Paris I walked in on her cheating on me. I didn’t stay to find out how long she was. I just needed to get out of there.” Tobin says pausing one more time. 

“So after that I just started to sleep with anyone who wanted to. Fans, random people at the bar, anyone who accepted. If she wanted to accuse me of sleeping with everyone, I would do something to be accused of. Thats around the time I started seeing Sharon. I was so angry all the time, drinking, hooking up with someone every night. In the off season I started smoking weed. I was in a bad place.” 

Tobin takes a deep breathe. “After seeing Sharon things got better. I was happy again. I stopped all of that. I still drank occasionally, and umm yeah I still hooked up. But Chris I promise I haven’t in a while. I stopped. I haven’t” Tobin started to ramble when Chris turned around to face her. 

“Tobs I believe you. You don’t have to persuade me. You are an incredible person who anyone would be lucky to have, and Shirley definitely made a mistake ruining things with you. You are single and you can hook up with anyone you want. I know if we actually want to do something and make a go of us, I would never have to worry about you cheating, because I trust you.” Christen said 

“I don’t want to hook up with anyone else. Just you. You are the only one I romantically think about.” Tobin whispers honestly. That conversation took a lot out of them but it was something they would never regret having. 

•

The next day it ended up raining so they were stuck inside all day. When Tobin woke up she was trying to come up with what they could do. She didn’t want their time here to be boring. 

She was racking her brain left and right. What do 4 year olds like to do on rainy days? What did Christen want to do on this rainy day? She was so lost in thought she didn’t realize Christen had woken up. 

She only realized she was there when Christen leaned down and kissed her check. That got her right out of her head and into the present. 

“G-Good morning Chris” Tobin said 

“Good morning Tobs. Where did you go” Christen asks 

“What do you mean, I didn’t go anywhere” Tobin says so seriously. 

“I was trying to get your attention for like 5 minutes” Christen says laughing 

“Oh.. um like I like was like. Um I was trying to figure out what we could do today because its raining and I want you guys to have a good time.” Tobin says curling into herself 

“Tobin you know would could stay in all day, do nothing and watch movies and he would love it because he is with you” Christen says going to sit on the other edge of the couch

Tobin starts playing with the edge of the blanket, looking down at her hands. “And you?” She whispers. Looking up at Christen.

“And me. Tobin I don’t care what we do, I am just enjoying spending time with you and seeing my son happy” Christen says as she starts to lean over toward Tobin.

Christen wants to show Tobin how serious she is by giving her a kiss. But before she can reach Tobin’s lip she hears foot steps running down the hall. 

Max comes running around the couch and jumps on top of it. “Good morning Mommy.” He says giving Christen a kiss on the check. “Good morning Tobi” he says giving her a kiss on the check. 

“Good morning Handsome” Christen says

“Good morning Buddy” Tobin says “What do you want to do today” 

Max thinks for a second before he leans over to whisper in Tobin’s ear. “Can we build a fort. Mommy always says no because I will make a mess” 

Tobin laughs. That is definitely believable. This gave her the perfect idea. They could build a fort and pretend they were camping. She could go to the store and get stuff to make s’mores. It would be perfect. 

“That sounds perfect.” Tobin says getting up from the couch. “I am going to get dressed run out to the store and I will be right back.” She says as she gets up and leaves the room. 

When Tobin gets back from the store her and Max grab all the pillows and blankets she could find and brings them to the living room. As she is standing there trying to figure out the master plan Christen comes up from behind her. 

“Are you trying to make me look like a bad guy, by letting my son build a fort because I never let him” Christen whispers in her ear

Tobin takes a big gulp. Christen being that close to her and whispering in her ear is making her feel some type of way. “I need to win him over so he will let me date his mommy” Tobin said cockily 

That made Christen blush and she couldn’t come up with a come back so she walked away. 

They spent the next couple hours making a fort. It took longer because Max kept thinking it was so funny to knock them down. When they finally got him to stop the fort they built ended up taking up the whole living room. 

After it was finished they went and made s’mores in the microwave. They aren’t as good as the ones over a fire obviously but it was the best Tobin could do. Maybe one day she would get to take Max camping and they couldhave real ones.

•

During this visit they finally get to do the zoo trip they never got the chance to do. Obviously it was a little different than the original plan because Christen tagged along. But neither Max nor Tobin was complaining about that. 

They ended up at the Oregon Zoo and it was awesome. They started off in the Great North West which home to the Mountain Goats, Black Bears, Bald Eagles, River Otters, Beavers, Water Fowl, Cougars, Condors, And Goats. 

Max wanted to know everything there was about the animals, so Tobin or Christen had to read him all the facts about the animals that were in front of the exhibits, followed by him being fascinated by the animals and staring at them. 

Max thought it was really funny that baby otters were call pups, like baby dogs were. When they got to the cougars, Tobin whispers in Christen’s ear that she should be in there with them. Resulting in a gasp from Christen and Tobin getting smacked. 

After the Great North West, they made there way to the Pacific Shores, which houses the Harbor Seals, Sea Otters and the Penguins. Max loved the penguins, he loved how they waddled and how they would slide on their belly’s. 

Max insisted they ride the carousel when they passed it. So of course they ended up riding it for him. 

The next stop was the Prime mate forest where he got to learn about the Chimpanzees. He learned that Chimpanzees are the most intelligent prime mates, and they learned how to talk to each other. 

The next stop was the Elephant lands where they got to see the elephants. Max kept saying how he wanted to ride on them, causing Tobin to just laugh. 

Before they left the Elephant area they stopped at the Cascade grill to get some food. They had burgers and fries to hold them over for the rest of their visit at the zoo. 

After lunch they went to the Africa area. Which was probably the biggest section of the zoo. They had almost every animal you could think of and some Tobin had never heard of. 

Tobin had never heard of a bontebok before. But after reading the facts she found out it is one of the rarest antelopes out there. 

They paid extra so that Max could feed the Giraffes and he let out the most precious giggle every time their tongues licked the food off his hand. 

As they were walking around Africa, Max was walking in front of the two woman leading the way to where he wanted to go. The two woman’s hands kept brushing together. 

It was taking all of Tobin’s will power not to just grab Christen’s hand and hold it. She wanted to so badly. Little did she know Christen wanted the same. She was waiting for Tobin to make the move. 

But after a while Christen realized it was never going to come. She would have to make the first move. So she did, she slipped her hand into Tobin’s and continued to walk as if it was a normal occurrence. 

They made sure every time Max turned around they unclasped, but when he wasn’t looking anymore they went back to holding hands. 

As they got to the snake sanctuary Christen noticed Tobin hanging back and a nervous energy. When Max suggested to his mom that they should get a snake as a pet, Tobin’s face paled. 

Thus causing Christen to realize that Tobin was afraid of snakes. Christen used that as ammo to make fun of Tobin for the rest of the day. 

The last stop of the day was the Discovery Zoo, where they got to see the tigers, insects, red pandas and they got to ride the zoo train. 

When they were leaving Max insisted that they had to stop at the gift shop so he could get a penguin stuffed animal because that was his favorite animal of the day. 

On the car ride home, Max mumbled out “Best day ever” before he fell asleep. Both woman smiled at each other and thought to themselves “yeah it was” 

•

It was the next night after Max had went to bed, Christen and Tobin where sitting on the couch watching TV. Tobin’s back had been hurting so she started to roll her neck, and contort her back to try and get some relief. 

Christen noticed this causing her to ask if she was okay. “Yeah my back is just tight and hurting” Tobin said trying to squeeze her shoulder with her hand. 

“Do you want me to give you a massage?” Christen asks. 

“Sure” Tobin says. “We can do it on my bed.” When Tobin realize what she says he face turns red. “I don’t mean do it, do it. I mean the massage” Tobin rushed out. 

Christen just laughs following Tobin to her room. When Tobin gets in her room she begins to get nervous. She has to take her shirt off but she doesn’t want Christen to feel some type of way. 

Christen reading Tobin’s mind turns around so she can take her top off and lay down on the bed. When Tobin is all set on the bed Christen moves so she is basically straddling Tobin, sitting on top of her butt. 

Christen grab the oil from Tobin’s bedside table and begins to spread it on Tobin’s back. Christen begins sliding her hands up and down Tobin’s back going from the hem of her pants, up to her neck and than down her arms. She repeats that a couple times.

Next Christen started squeezing Tobin’s back. While mixing in some kneading as if she was kneading some dough. She started at Tobin’s neck, than to her shoulders, followed by her lower back. 

Tobin was trying her best to keep control of herself. But she was getting so turned on right now. Having Christen’s hands roam all over her back, the skin to skin contact was getting almost to much to handle. She was trying her best to keep her moans from escaping her mouth. 

But it proved to much for Tobin, when Christen started the squeeze her back so close to the hem of her pants. She let out a deep moan unable to stop herself. 

This caused Christen to freeze. She couldn’t get over how hot that sound was and how she wished they were doing something else to hear that sound. 

When Christen finished she slide off Tobin. Tobin grabbed her shirt to cover herself and bolted out of the room so quick, saying that she needed to shower. 

Christen took pride in the fact that she made the older woman so hot and bothered and she wasn’t even trying to. She was genuinely trying to ease the tightness in Tobin’s muscles. 

•

The next night they were in the same position on the couch watching TV. Tobin was nervously playing with her fingers, and shaking her leg.

Christen knew that Tobin had something to say or ask and was just working through it in her head. So she let it be, but after about 10 minutes she could not stand the fidgeting anymore. So she placed her hand on Tobin’s knee to stop the shaking. 

Tobin still continued to play with her fingers for another 10 minutes before she spoke up. 

“C-C-Chris. Do you think um I could maybe sleep in the b-bed with you tonight. Just um my back and um this couch. I promise I won’t do anything. Except maybe cuddle. I like to cuddle. You can say no. You know what never mind forget I said anything” she rushes out not letting Christen get a word in

“Tobin are you going to let me speak.” Christen says and Tobin nods her head looking down to her lap “First off all this is your house, your bed you should be sleeping in it, I could have slept on the couch. Especially because of your back”

“No Chris” Tobin starts to interrupt, but Christen gives her a death glare so she silenced herself. 

“Secondly, I like to cuddle. But I get to be big spoon.” Christen says laughing. 

“Are you sure” Tobin says nervously 

“Yes I am sure.” Christen says.

When it was time for bed Tobin slowed her walk so that she could go in after Christen. She wanted Christen to pick the side of the bed.

Christen saw Tobin doing this and rolled her eyes and she lifted the covers and got into the bed. “Come on Tobs, get in here. I won’t bite, at least not tonight” she said winking at Tobin

Tobin went and got into the other side of the bed. They both lay facing each other just staring into each others eyes. Both were thinking how much they wanted to kiss the other. 

Tobin decided she didn’t want to hold back anymore. So she leaned forward towards Christen. Eyes flicking back an forth between Christen’s eyes and lips. 

Tobin reached behind Christen head to pull her closer. Finally there lips met. It starts off slow and gently picks up speed. Tobin keeps going waiting for the moment she can slip her tongue into Christen’s mouth. 

When that moment comes she slips her tongue in. Their tongues move slowly in a circular motion in each others mouth. Their hands are combing through each others hair. 

Tobin sees fireworks. It is magical in her mind. It is definitely one of the best kisses she has ever experienced in her entire life. 

Christen pushes Tobin over so she is now laying on her back and Christen moves on top of her. They continue to fight for dominance which Tobin easily gives up when she realizes that is what Christen wants. 

When they both need air, Christen moves to Tobin’s neck before Tobin comes to her senses. “Wait. Wait Chris stop” Tobin says breathlessly 

“Oh I am sorry. I got to carried away” Christen embarrassingly says 

“hey, so did I. I liked that very much. You have no idea how much. But if we kept going I don’t know if I could stop. When we have sex for the first time, I want it to be special, I want it to be after we have been able to have a first date, and I want it to be when I don’t have to worry about Max being across the hall.” Tobin says brushing a lose piece of hair behind Christen’s ear.

“Okay” Christen says sliding off of Tobin. She taps Tobin’s shoulder so she can turn on side. When Tobin does that, Christen wraps her arms around her. “Goodnight Tobs”

“Goodnight Chris” Tobin says kissing one of Christens hands. Before they both fell asleep. 


	9. Date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally get that first date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again sorry for the long wait. Work got pretty busy with a deadline. But I think this chapter should make up for it.

The two woman and Max are now at camp. To say Tobin was disappointed that she couldn’t room with Christen was an understatement. All the woman with kids on the team got their own rooms.

So Tobin was stuck sharing a room with Kelley. She would miss being able to sleep in the same bed with Christen. They fell into a little routine the last couple days in Portland. It was nicer than she could have ever imagined. 

After the first couple days the team could see a shift in there behavior since the last camp. They noticed the girls where inseparable, a part of their bodies always had to be touching. 

But nobody said anything to either one of the girls for fear of what could happen if they did. But they did whisper to each other. Kelley was the only one who knew of the girls crushes. 

But what she did not know was that they had already been open to each other about said feelings. 

•

One night Kelley offered to watch all the kids because she didn’t feel like going out with the rest of the team. If she was being honest she was really missing her girlfriend and knew the kids would cheer her up. 

She was sitting on the bed while the kids where playing race cars, scrolling through her phone, when Max came and sat next to her. 

“What’s wrong Aunt Kelley” Max asked very concerned as to why his Aunt isn’t her normal crazy self. 

“I’m okay buddy. I just miss my girlfriend” Kelley says 

“Mommy could be your girlfriend” the boy says, like he just had the best solution to her problem. 

“Thats not how it works buddy. You can only have one girlfriend” Kelley says laughing

“Oh” the boy says thinking “Mommy needs a girlfriend” 

“Oh does she?” Kelley says as she raises her eyebrows at him.She doesn’t think he really understands what a girlfriend is. But she was eager to here what he had to say.

“Yeah she does. She gets lonely. Girls make her happy. Vero used to make mommy really happy.” Max starts to ramble out. But before Kelley could get a word in he continued. “We have to find mommy a girlfriend Aunt Kelley” 

Kelley is uncontrollably laughing at this moment. She can’t believe what is coming out of Max’s mouth. But she did think Christen needed to start putting herself back out there. So she was definitely down for his plan. 

“Sounds like a plan kid. You got any ideas” Kelley ask 

“Hmm what about Amy, than Ryan and I could be brothers” Max says 

“Amy is married, so that won’t work” Kelley said

“What about Lauren, I could have a sister. Even though I would rather have brother” Max said

Kelley understood the boys want for siblings. She couldn’t imagine growing up as an only child. “She is also married.” Kelley says

“Ughh” Max groans “What about Tobin!” He shouts. The lightbulb going off in his head. 

“I like where you head is at. I think Tobin would be perfect” Kelley says ruffling the boys head. 

•

It was a couple days later. They team was at lunch. Max had left his usual seat with his Mom and Tobin to go sit over with Kelley. They kept whispering back and forth and looking over at the table where Tobin and Christen were sitting. 

“They are up to something. I should have never let Kelley around my kid. She is probably corrupting him.” Christen said to Tobin. 

Tobin just laughs as Max comes running over to there table. “Can Aunt Kelley watch me for a little bit” Max asks hopeful that his mom will agree. He and Kelley had a plan they needed to finish. 

“Okay I have to go to the trainer anyway” Christen said. “Behave” Max gave Christen a kiss an ran back towards Kelley.

•

It was later that night. Tobin was laying in her bed playing her DS, when she got a text from Kelley saying she really needed to talk to her and to meet on the roof. 

So Tobin got up put a hoodie on, her PDX snapback and some slides and headed out to the roof. 

•

At the same time Christen received a text from Kelley saying they were looking at the stars on the roof if she wants to come get Max now. 

So she closed her book and put it on the bed. She got up and slipped on a hoodie, and put on some slides and headed up to the roof. 

•

Tobin gets to the roof first. When she looks around there is no sign of Kelley, but there is a blanket on the ground with two water bottles. 

Tobin is confused but sits down anyway as she waits for Kelley. That confusion grows even more when the door opens and she sees Christen walk through the threshold. 

Christen who is now also confused walks over to Tobin. “What are you doing up here” 

“Kelley told me she needed to talk. What are you doing up here” Tobin asks

“Kelley told me her and Max were up here and to come get them.” Christen says 

As the realization clicks for both of them that this was some sort of set up. The door opens again. Kelley is holding the door open and Max is walking out with a tray of food. 

“Mommy sit down. You can’t stand for the whole date” Max says with a straight face 

Christens face turns bright red from the blush she is now supporting. He son, and obviously Kelley just set her and Tobin up on a date. But Christen obliges and sits down. 

Max places the plate if food in front of them. It was just vegetables and some ranch dip. “This is all Dawn said I could give you” Max says “Enjoy your date mommy” he gives Christen a kiss on the cheek and runs back inside 

They two woman sit in silence for a couple minutes.Neither one of them know what to say.Tobin started to rub the back of her neck. This is not at all how she pictured there first date going. 

“I can’t believe my son had to plan our first date for us.” Christen says. That was honestly the only thing she could think of to say. If she was being honest she has been waiting for Tobin to ask her out.

“This is not a date” Tobin just blurts out not thinking about the consequences of her words. 

Christen face immediately drops at that. Her heart breaks. She thought Tobin was really into her and that a date was the next step. The tears started to form in her eyes “Oh” was all Christen could muster up. 

Tobin noticed the defeated look in Christen eyes and face the moment those words left her mouth. “Wait Christ thats not what I meant. Okay well it is what I meant. But not how you think I meant it” Tobin says rubbing the back of her neck trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this. “I have a whole plan for our first date, and this isn’t it. Ugh I am ruining everything. Everything is ruined” 

Christen moves so that she can grab Tobin’s hand “Hey stop that. Tobs I need you to stop thinking you ruin everything when something small goes wrong. Nothing is ruined. This can be a pre-date if you want it to be.” Christen says looking at Tobin. Tobin shakes her head up and down agreeing with Christen. 

“So you Ms. Go with the flow planned out a date for us? Do tell” Christen says 

“Well I wanted it to be a surprise but that’s kind of ruined.” Tobin scratches the back of her neck. “You are going to visit your parents after camp and um like I was like going to go to my house in Manhattan beach. I was going to ask your parents if they could watch Max so I could take you out on date. I would get all dressed up in something way better than sweats and a hoodie, and you would too. You would look beautiful. Not that you aren’t right now. Than we would go on our date, but thats a surprise so you will have to wait. Than I would drop you off at the door, and I would give you a kiss goodnight. It would be the perfect date.” 

Christen is smiling so wide. That sounds amazing to her. “Tobin that sounds amazing. It sounds like the perfect date. I can’t wait. But do you think maybe I can get that kiss right now” Christen leans in and so does Tobin. The kiss is quicker than either one would like, but it definitely makes them smile wide. 

Christen starts to play with her fingers. She has been holding off bringing this up to Tobin for a while but she figures that now is as good of a time as any. “Tobs, I don’t want to ruin the moment but I have to talk to you about something” 

“What is it” Tobin ask. She sees the hesitation in Christen voice and it makes her a little nervous. 

“I know you know this, but I just need to ease my mind. But you know Max and I are a package deal. He loves you and if you aren’t 100% about this, about us. I need you to tell me. I don’t want him to have to lose you if he gets so attached.” Christen says

Tobin was waiting for this conversation if she was being honest. She had thought about it for weeks. “Chris I have been thinking about that for weeks. Ever since our first kiss in Sweden. I love Max, more than I could ever think possible. I would never want to hurt him. Chris I am 100% sure about you. I think I always have been. I want this, I want you, I want it all. Do I think I am ready to step in a parent role? I have no idea, I don’t think I am, I am still a kid sometimes. But I want to, I want to try, I want to learn from the best and that is you.” 

Christen has tears falling down her face from Tobin’s confession. When she finishes Christen can’t hold in anymore and lunges forward to connect their lips. This time it is more passionately. Christen runs her tongue on Tobins lower lip so she can gain access.

They only stop when they both start grinning to wide that their teeth clank together. When they pull away they keep their foreheads connected and gaze into each others eyes. 

“Want to prank Kelley.” Tobin says

“You know I do. What did you have in mind” Christen asks

“Lets make her think this little date plan went horrible for the rest of camp. That will also give us a little grace period after our first date for it to just be us in our bubble” Tobin says 

“I am so down.” Christen says pecking Tobin on the lips one more time.

•

Tobin walks back into her room slamming the door, to an expectant Kelley waiting on the bed. “Whats the matter, how was the date?” 

Tobin just gives her a dirty look, goes into the bathroom to do her nightly routine and than proceeds to bed. Without looking or saying a word to Kelley. 

Kelley is really confused, but just takes it as Tobin being her tired cranky self and goes to bed.

•

The next morning Kelley heads down to breakfast before Tobin. When she walks in, she sees Christen sitting by herself. She wonders where Max is but than she sees him playing with Ryan and Jrue. 

So she figures this is the perfect time to see how the date went from Christen’s point of view. So she walks over and plops into the seat next to Christen. 

“So how was the date with your hottie” Kelley says wiggling her eyebrows 

“I really don’t want to talk about it Kel” Christen huffs out 

Kelley is so confused. How could the date have not been perfect. Those two were so in love they just didn’t know it yet. At that moment Tobin walks in and looks longly at Christen. 

Normally Tobin comes at sits next to Christen always. But not today. Today she went and sat at a table on the opposite side of the room. 

Kelley didn’t know how. But she knew she screwed up and she knew that she needed to figure out a way to fix it and fast.

•

The next couple days were rough on Tobin and Christen. They missed hang out with each other and just being near the other one. 

Their days were spent with stolen glances, stolen moments and texts with things they wish they could say in person. 

It was the last night of camp when Christen gets a text. 

**Tobs: Sneak out and meet me on the roof**

**Chris: We are not Children. But I’ll be there in a minute.**

Tobin is waiting on the roof, looking out over the city when she hears the door open. She turns around and sees that its Christen. She slowly starts to walk over to her. 

She is slow at first but picks up her pace quickly until she reaches Christen and is able to engulf her in a hug. It is like every romcom movie ever when you get reacquainted with that special someone. 

Tobin doesn’t care, she hugs Christen with her head in the crook of her neck. “I missed you” Tobin mumbles into Christen’s neck 

Christen wasn’t sure if she got what Tobin said, but she thinks she knows. “Me too Tobs, me too” 

When they pull apart Tobin intertwines their hands and they walk to the edge of the roof. Tobin turns them so they are both facing each other and she grabs both of Christen hands in hers.

“So Christen will you go on a date with me on Tuesday please?” Tobin says nervously. She knows Christen is going to say yes but she is still worried. She has the urge to itch the back of her neck but continues to hold Christen’s hand and that seems to be helping. 

“Of course I will Tobs. I just have to make sure my parents can watch Max” Christen says excitedly. She has been waiting for this moment forever 

“Oh um they can. I already asked them” Tobin says smiling 

“How” Christen asks puzzled at how she did that. 

“Well this really brilliant woman I know, made sure her son knows all the important phone numbers including his grandparents” Tobin says cheekily 

Christen smiles. Tobin may just be the most perfect person she has ever met. She can’t hold back and longer and leans in to kiss Tobin. It is short and sweet but it is enough for both of them. 

•

It was finally Tuesday. Finally the day Tobin got to take Christen on a date. She thought she would would spend the whole day in a nervous rut. But she was surprised when all she felt was excitement. 

The nerves only started to hit her when she was getting ready. She took a long shower to make sure her hair was completely knot free. Normally she doesn’t care but today was special and she wanted it all to be perfect. 

She got out of the shower, blow dried her hair and than straightened it. When she got it to exactly how she wanted it, she went to her closet to get her clothes on. 

She decided on her nicest pair of black skinny jeans, ones without holes, she figured that those were more formal. Than she grabs a brand new plain white t-shirt from the packaging. 

She looks at her self in the mirror. She thinks she looks good. She slips on pair of sneakers. She wants to finish it all off with her snapback but decides against it. 

Although she does grab it because she thinks it will be good to have for the second part of the date. She grabs everything she needs and head out the door to go pick up Christen. 

•

Christen on the other hand was a nervous wreck all day. The closer it got to the time Tobin told her the more anxious she got. 

She could not figure out what to wear. She had almost every item of clothing she owned thrown around her room. She was getting so frustrated. 

Finally after Stacey had heard the huffing, groaning, pacing and banging around in Christen’s room she decided to go help her out. 

“Hey sweetheart what’s going on in here” Stacey gently says while knocking on Christen’s half opened door. 

“Ughh Mom I don’t know what to wear. What the heck does that mean. Something comfy and casual. Whatever you want. Maybe not a dress or a skirt” Christen says pointing at her phone indicating the text Tobin sent her. “Like what am I supposed wear. Why couldn’t she just tell me what are doing. I need to look amazing.” 

“Sweetheart breathe for me” Stacey says cutting off her daughters rambling. “If Tobin told you it would ruin the surprise. She did tell you no dresses or skirts. So we can eliminate them.” Stacey says and she starts to pick up the discarded items all around her room. 

While Stacey is doing that she is also looking around to try and help her daughter find an outfit. After some searching Stacey thinks she finds the perfect outfit for her daughter. 

She picks it out, showing Christen to make sure she gets her approval, and than herds her into the shower. 

•

Tobin walks up to the Press’ door with flowers in her hand. She knocks on the door. As she is waiting she keeps rocking back and forth on her heels. 

She hears footsteps running towards the door. The footsteps stopped and the door flung open. “Hi Tobi” Max said about to jump forward to give Tobin a hug when he noticed the flowers and restrained himself.

“Hey buddy” Tobin said ruffling his hair with her free hand. Tobin walks in the foyer and stands there. She is about to ask Max where his mom is when she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. 

Tobin and Max both look up at the same time. As soon as Tobin spots her, her mouth opens wide and her jaw just drops. 

Christen is wearing super tight jeans that accent every single curve of her lower half. She is also wearing a button upblack shirt with flowers covering it adding some color. She has on white boots, and her hair is not her natural curls but it is wavy. 

Tobin is blown away by how gorgeous she looks. She is thankful in this moment she told Christen casual because if Christen got dressed up to the nines she doesn’t think she could make it through the date. 

“Mommy you look really pretty” Max says “doesn’t she Tobin” Max says looking up at Tobin. When Tobin doesn’t answer and just stares at Christen he yanks on Tobins hand

“Yeah Yeah” Tobin says not sure what she is answering and not moving her eyes off Christen as she comes to stand in front of her. “Chris you look amazing.” Tobin whispers put like it is some kind of secret. 

This causes Christen to blush. “You do too, Tobs” She looks pointedly at the flowers in Tobin’s hand. “Are those for me” 

Tobin scratches the back of her neck “Yeah they are” She says as she extends them out for Christen to grab. It was a bouquet of pink and orange roses.” They are roses, I thought these would be better than just red roses” 

“They are perfect” Christen says as she admires them. “Max can you give these the grandma and behave I probably won’t be back before you fall asleep, but I will see you in the morning okay. I love you” Christen says bending down to give her son a kiss. 

“Okay, I love you too. Bye Tobi” Max says 

“Bye buddy” Tobin says as Max runs off to find his grandma with the flowers in hand. 

•

Tobin pulls up and parks in front of the Catalina Kitchen. Christen’s jaw drops as she looks over at Tobin. Who just smiles at her and gets out of her Jeep. 

She walks around the front of it to open Christen’s door for her. She holds out her hand for Christen to grab and get out. When Christen gets out they interlace their fingers together and walk towards the building. 

Tobin holds open the door for Christen to walk in first. When they enter they can see the place is crowded. When Tobin had been planning the date she had known it would be so she made sure to make a reservation. 

She goes up to the hostess. “Reservation for 6 under Heath” She says 

The hostess looks at her computer screen and starts clicking things. She grabs when of those alarm things that they have at every restaurant. “It will be about an hour” 

“What do you mean an hour I made a reservation” Tobin shouts 

“As you can see we are very behind” The hostess says moving here hand to show the crowd. 

“But I made a reservation weeks ago, and you’re telling me I have to wait an hour” Tobin angrily says 

“Yes ma’am” the hostess says. At that Tobin can’t take it anymore and storms out of the restaurant. Christen grabs the alarm and follows her date out the door. 

“Tobin” Christen shouts looking down the side walk towards where her car is. She didn’t see the woman. So she looked the other way. There she was. 

She was pacing. She would walk down the side walk a little bit and bang the wall. Than she would walk back towards the restaurant entrance and do the same thing. 

She didn’t realize Christen was there. Christen heard Tobin mumbling to herself. She couldn’t make out what she was saying but she knew, that Tobin was beating herself up over the dinner being delayed. 

After a couple of minutes of watching this happening and her not stopping, she walks up to Tobin and pushes her gently against the wall so their fronts are facing each other. 

Christen has her hands on Tobins arms and is looking her in the eyes almost willing her to calm down. She could never understand how the normally chill girl had such a short fuse. 

“Tobs I need you to breathe and relax” Christen says moving her hands up and down the girls arms

“I made this reservation weeks ago. You kept off handedly mention it. So I thought it would be perfect.” Tobin says. As she is saying this a tear starts to run down her cheek. “Now you have to wait, and we are going to have a shorter time at the second part of the date” 

Christen takes her hands and moves them to Tobin’s face. She uses her thumb to wipe up the small amount of tears that has spilled out of her eyes. Christen was so surprised to see that reaction from the girl. 

“Baby I know that your last relationship was tough on you, and you had to work extra hard to prove your love. But you don’t need to do that with me. I know it sucks that we have to wait, but the fact that you listened to me and booked a reservation here makes it so special. Even if this was the whole date, I am sure it would be the best first date ever. And if we don’t get to everything you wanted tonight, you will just have to take me on a second date.” Christen says smiling at the girl

Christen notices a smile start to break out on the girls face. “You called me baby, and you already want a second date. We haven’t even gotten close to done with the first one” 

“Yeah I did” Christen blushes “I waited awhile for this I don’t think one will be enough” 

“Can I have a kiss” Tobin sheepishly asks. Christen nods her head and leans in to give Tobin a quick peck. 

“Lets go walk on the beach until its time” Christen says grabbing Tobin’s hand and walking towards the beach. 

•

They are walking and talking on the beach. Its a beautiful site. The sun is just going down causing the sky to look beautiful. The waves are crashing calmly. 

“Tobs I have a question for you” Christen quietly says 

“Ask away babe” Tobin winks at Christen. Liking their new addition of pet names 

“So I was wondering how often do you go and see your therapist.” Christen says as she looks over at Tobin. She can see and feel the girl tense up. 

“Um I haven’t been since ya know that time. But I haven’t really been before that for awhile as well” Tobin says nervously rubbing the back of her neck. She never really felt comfortable talking about therapy. She always felt people would think she was weak because of it and she didn’t want Christen to see her that way. 

“I think maybe you should see one regularly. I don’t want you to feel like I am pressuring you. But I think it would really help, I know it does for me.” Christen says 

“You see a therapist?” Tobin asked surprised. Christen was perfect in every way she couldn’t imagine her going to one. 

“Yeah I do. I started going around the time I found out about Max. To help me cope with everything and help with my anxiety. Than I never stopped. No matter where my location was I always had someone I could go see. Whether I am really happy or feeling down I still talk to them every week. It helps.” 

Christen stops so she can face Tobin. “It doesn’t make you any less because you see one Tobin. It is normal to ask for help. It doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong. The power to understand you are human. No human will ever be perfect, sometimes we need a little help.” 

“Okay” Tobin says “Can I think about it”

“Of course. I don’t want you to think I was pressuring you. I just wanted to let you know it might help you.” Christen sincerely says 

“I know you weren’t pressuring me. I know sometimes I can let my emotions get the best of me. Sometimes I just get so frustrated and I don’t know how to let them out, so it just comes out in anger. But I promise I will really think about seeing my therapist regularly. I want to be better. I want to be better for you. And for Max. And I guess for me too” Tobin says

Christen smiles and leans in to leave a passionate kiss on Tobins lips. She is so beyond happy to have reconnected with Tobin again. She has never felt more special than in the girls presence. The alarm goes off signaling the end of their kiss, but the beginning of there dinner. 

•

Dinner was amazing. They got a bottle of Christen’s favorite wine to start with. They started off with garlic fries. Christen tried to insist to Tobin that they didn’t need to.

But Tobin kept insisting that she knows she loves fries and they are going to go all out and try them. So to please stop being stubborn and enjoy them. 

For entrees Christen got the seafood platter because she could not decide just one item to get. Tobin got the Filet. But they both ended up sharing each others meals. 

They both were to full to get desert. Everything was phenomenal. It was so worth the wait in both their minds. Not only was the food great, but the conversation flowed easily. They talked about their plans for Thanksgiving and traditions the other has with their families. 

When they were finished Tobin slipped the waiter her credit card to pay. Once that was all set they headed to their next destination. 

•

When they get in the car Tobin hands Christen a bandana. “Can you put this over your eyes?” Tobin asks. Christen doesn’t comment just takes it and puts it over her eyes. 

They hold hands the whole drove over to their next part of the date. When they arrive Tobin puts the car in park, slips her snapback on and gets out to go get Christen from her side of the car. 

She opens the door for her and helps her out of the car. Tobin guides Christen where she wants her to go. When Tobin gets Christen to wear she wants her she undoes the bandana. 

Christen takes a second for her eyes to adjust. But when she does a smile breaks out on her face. “You are taking me to a carnival on our first date.”

Tobin is a little nervous to as what Christen is going to think. “Yeah. The last time we were together before now was at a carnival. That night I really wished it was a date. I wish I had the nerve to ask. But I thought maybe this would be a good do over” 

“I think its great” Christen says grabbing Tobin’s hand and dragging her into the carnival. 

They rode all the rides they could. Tobin also one Christen a new teddy bear at the ring toss, stating that Christen needed a new one for herself since Max stole the other one. 

The last stop of the night was the ferris wheel. While they were waiting in line Christen stole Tobin’s snapback off the top of her head and put it her own. 

Tobin smiles and looks at her. “Damn you look so hot in my hat” 

Of course they got stuck at the top. When that happened Christen leans over. Their lips brush together delicately. 

The kiss makes both of them feel warm inside. But not warm in the sexual way. But warm in the comfort way, that they both find safety in the other. In the way that they both can’t wait for the future together. 

When the ride starts to move again they pull apart. “Sometimes I wish you would have just asked me out and kissed me hard that night” Christen whispered. 

•

Tobin did as she had said and walked Christen back to her door. Tobin was leaning against the wall of the house outside the door with Christen leaning on her front. 

They were making out like a couple of teenagers after a date, trying to ensure they weren’t late for curfew. They might as well have been when the outside lights starting turning on and off. 

That caused they both to laugh. “I guess I better say goodnight before your parents think I am just some horny teenager” Tobin says through a laugh. 

“Well they are half right. I definitely think you are horny” Christen laughs 

Tobin thinks well you aren’t wrong. “Goodnight Chris. Thanks for letting me take you out tonight.” 

“Goodnight baby. I had a really great time.” Christen says leaning forward to give Tobin a quick peck before she opens the door and goes inside. 

Tobin skips to her jeep, humming to whatever tune was in her head. She was on cloud 9 and she didn’t think anything could bring her down. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it. As always leave a comment on what you thought, if you have any ideas, or any constructive criticisms.


	10. I am thankful for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls spend thanksgiving with their families and they also go to the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this took so long. Between writer's block and everything going on with the virus this took longer than expected. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I hope this chapter brightens your day just a little bit.

Thanksgiving approached faster than either girl realized. Tobin was with her family on the east coast and Christen was with hers on the west. 

It was the day before Thanksgiving and Tobin was spending time with her family at her parents house. Her mom was in the kitchen baking the pies. 

Tobin wasn’t allowed to help after the incident of 2009 when she burnt two of the pies. So she was just sitting on the kitchen Island texting Christen. 

** Tobs: What are you doing beautiful? **

** Chris: Just finished bathing Max. Him, Kahlessi and Morena got a little crazy outside this morning. What about you babe? **

** Tobs: Watching my mom cook. She won’t let me help. Can you believe that?  **

** Chris: Honestly? Yes I can.  **

**Tobs: What!?! I am deeply hurt.**

**Chris: Remember when you came to Sweden?**

**Tobs: Of course I remember. I made you the best darn game day breakfast you had ever had. Why does it matter if a plate got shattered in the making of it.**

**Chris: You are right baby. It was delicious. But maybe its best if you stay out of the kitchen for this.**

“Who has you smiling like a little school girl, and engrossed in your phone so much? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you with you phone in your hand that long before” Cindy asks

Tobin looks up from her phone. She heard her mom speaking to her. But she was so zoned out she has no idea what she said. So she just stares at her mom with a blank stare. 

“Who are you texting that has you all smiley?” Cindy asks again. 

“Oh. Um” Tobin pauses. Was she really ready to have this conversation with her mom. “Um Christen” 

“Christen? Christen? From the National team? Cindy asks as realization hits her who her daughter was talking about. 

“Yeah that Christen” Tobin says as she moves her hand to the back of her neck. 

“She is really pretty honey” Cindy says as she continues to make her pie. She likes to think she knows her daughter better than anyone, and she knows prying won’t get her anywhere. So she waits for her daughter to set the pace of that conversation. 

“She really is” Tobin says dreamily. She starts blushing when she realizes that she just said that out loud. At that point Tobin figures she might as well just let it out. “Mom she is amazing. Its so much more than her just being pretty. I have never felt this before. Its like she really understands me.” 

“I am so happy for you sweetheart. I can’t wait to meet her as your girlfriend.” Cindy says

“We aren’t there yet, we only went on one date. We are taking things slow” Tobin says 

“Slow is okay honey. You guys have to take it at your pace. Whatever is comfortable for you guys. But when ever you are ready to introduce us, I will be ready.” Cindy reassuringly says 

Tobin just grunts in acknowledgment. There is silence for a little bit before Tobin speaks again. “Do you think I would make a good mom” 

Cindy chocked on air at that moment. She was not expecting to hear those words come out of her daughter’s mouth. One thing she was grateful for when Tobin came out to her was that she wouldn’t have to worry about unexpected pregnancies with her as she would with her other children. 

“Honey, you just said you are taking things slow, how are you already planning on having a kid.?” Cindy asks in shock

“Oh. No mom I am not planning on having a kid. Sort of. Um Christen has a son. He is four. He is the cutest kid ever.” She pulls out her phone to open a picture of Max wearing all her Thorns gear to show her mom. 

Cindy just smiles at her daughter. Seeing her face light up as she looks at the picture. Tobin hands the phone to her mom so she can look. “You are right he is very cute.” 

Tobin smiles. “So do you think I will be a good mom” Tobin ask nervously 

“Honey, I think you would be a fantastic one. You are the most caring and selfless person I know. You do everything in your power to make sure everyone else is happy and okay. Thats one of the biggest things about being a parent. You have to put them first, and I know you will do that.” Cindy says to her daughter. 

Tobin is overjoyed at hearing her mom say that. That is one of he biggest fears, is not being good enough. But hearing her mom say that makes her feel so much better. 

•

“Christen AnneMarie Press, where are you!” Tyler shouts as she walks into her parents house for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Christen walks out of the kitchen towards the front door where she heard her sister calling her name. “Why the full name” Christen asks

Tyler takes off her shoes and jacket, and than proceeds to grab Christen and drag her upstairs. “Channing lets go, we need to have a sister chat.”

Once all three girls are in the room, Tyler closes the door. Channing is sitting in the desk chair, Christen is sitting on the bed which Tyler goes and joins. 

“Christen I can not believe you went on a date with Tobin and didn’t tell me, I had to hear it from mom.” Tyler shouts out 

“What! You went on a date with Tobin!” Channing shouts 

Christen blushed. Her sisters new about the crush she used to have on Tobin, so she can kind of understand why they are acting like this. “Yes I did.” Christen says 

“Oh my gosh! How was it? Is she a good kisser? Good in bed? Girl I need all the details so start from the beginning.” Tyler said excitedly 

“First of all we haven’t had sex yet, and even if we did I would not share the details of my sex life with you!” Christen says the blush still red as ever on her face. 

But Christen goes on to tell them everything from the beginning from Max meeting Tobin at the game, to Tobin’s explosion, Tobin visiting them in Sweden. She tells them about all the visits and camps in between. 

Christen tells them how Tobin makes her feel. How she feels safe, loved and how she gets butterflies whenever she sees her. 

Finally Christen tells them about the first date, how romantic it was. She doesn’t leave anything out, including her parents catching them on the front porch making out. 

Which causes the other two girls to hysterically start laughing. Causing Channing to almost fall on the floor laughing. 

“So I guess that answers my question of if she is a good kisser or not” Tyler laughs out

“She is so good” Christen starts to day dream. She can’t help but remember that night and how it felt to kiss Tobin. 

“Look what you did Ty, we lost her. She is probably thinking about Tobin as we speak” Channing says

“Shut up” Christen huffs out

“But all jokes aside sis, I am happy for you. Everything you have told us about Tobin makes it seems like she is perfect for you. But I will be the judge of that when we meet her.” Tyler seriously says

“Come on guys lets go hang out before Christen gets to busy being in charge with two kids” Channing jokes out as the three girls hug. 

•

Thanksgiving had come and went. Tobin had come back to California. She didn’t want to spend anymore time away from Christen. 

Today they had planned to go to the beach. Tobin was excited she loved the beach. It was her happy place outside of soccer. When soccer is not in season that is usually where you can find her, at the beach surfing. 

Tobin got herself all ready, got in her jeep and headed to pick up Max and Christen for the beach.

When she arrived at the Press house, she parked the jeep and hopped out to go get them. But before she could get to the door Max ran out and ran straight to Tobin. 

Tobin was ready for it and lifted him up and spun him on the air. “Hey buddy. Are you ready for the beach.”

“Yes. Yes. Yes. We can build a sand castle.” Max says. 

As Max is saying that Christen comes out of the house. Tobin flashes her, her signature smirk and than proceeds to walk over to the jeep to get them all settled in. 

Once Max is all set in his car seat. Tobin moves out of the way to let Christen get in the car. When Christen gets in Tobin closes the door and heads over to her side of the jeep. 

Once settled in her seat and everyone is buckled and ready to go, Tobin puts the Jeep in drive and they head to the beach. 

•

When they arrived at the beach and found the perfect spot for the day, Tobin started to lay out the blanket on top of the sand. Max couldn’t wait any longer and he quickly ripped off his shirt and started to run towards the water. 

Tobin saw it happening and quickly shot up and grabbed him with one arm. “Not so fast buddy. First you have to put sun screen on and second you can’t go in the water by yourself” 

Tobin and Max walk over to the bag of stuff and Tobin grabs out the sunscreen. She starts on his front cover any spot where skin is showing. She than moves on to his back. 

Halfway through rubbing the sunscreen on his back she looks up and freezes. Christen has now taken off her cover up and is just in her bikini. 

Christen is wearing a simple red bikini but Tobin now thinks red might be her new favorite color. She also thinks she has never seen anything so hot in her life. 

Her mouth is dry and she can’t see anything other than the beautiful woman in front of her. She didn’t think about having to see Christen in a bikini when she proposed going to the beach. But she is definitely not complaining now. 

“Tobi. Tobi! Tobi” Max shouts trying to get Tobins attention. His yelling causes Tobin to shake her focus on Christen and focus back on the boy. 

“Sorry” Tobin mumbles out. “All finished. Why don’t you play right there in the sand until we are all ready” 

Max grabs his sand toys and heads to the spot where Tobin pointed to. When Max leaves Christen walks over to Tobin. “You think you can put some sunscreen on me” 

Tobin starts to blush “um. Um. Yeah of course” Tobin stumbles out. Christen can’t help but smile. She loves the effect she has on the older girl. It makes her feel special in ways she never thought possible. 

So Tobin squeezes the lotion in her hands, rubs them together and starts to rub it on to Christen back. She starts at the shoulders and works her way down Christen’s back. She makes sure to get every inch all the way down to her bikini bottoms. 

“Okay your turn. Take off your shirt” Christen says as she turns around to face Tobin and grabs the sun screen from her hand as she stands there frozen. 

Christen takes it upon her self to start to lift off Tobin’s shirt when she doesn’t seem to move. Tobin comes to in the middle of that and steps back a little to take finish taking off her shirt the rest of the way. 

When she takes it off, Tobin turns around so her back was facing Christen. Christen starts to rub the lotion all over Tobins back just like Tobin had done to her. 

Tobin skin is heating up in every place that Christen is touching. She can’t help but imagine Christen touching her in other places to. Her soft hands between her 

“Im done Tobs. My son is impatiently waiting for you to build a sandcastle with him” Christen says interrupting Tobin’s train of thought. 

“You aren’t going to join us” Tobin asks

“I am more of a sit on the blanket, read a book and tan kind of girl.” Christen says and she kisses Tobin on the cheek and goes to sit on the blanket. 

•

Tobin is trying to help build the best sandcastle Max had ever built. Tobin doesn’t remember sand castling building being that difficult, but than again she never tried as an adult. 

“I think we need a couple shells and than it will be done” Tobin says as she stands up to grab Max hand. They walk towards the water with a bucket to pick up some shells. “Make sure you stay super close to me buddy” 

“I promise Tobi” Max says as her starts searching for some shells

Max is very picky when he is searching for the shells. He has high standards. The shells have to be cool and they have to be whole. It could be a half shell and it couldn’t be missing pieces. 

Tobin just let him do his thing while she stood there watching him pick out the shells. She just held the bucket not wanting to ruin his good mood by picking the wrong shell. 

Max picks up a medium size shell and just stares at it. He is amazed by it. “Tobi” 

“Yeah buddy whats up” Tobin answers him

“You should give this to mommy.” Max says holding out the shell that is in his hand to Tobin. “Its really pretty” 

“It is really pretty” Tobin says as she exams the shell in her hand. It is a perfect shell. It has ridges on the outer portion. It has a orange and pink tint of coloring. “So why don’t you give it to her buddy”

“No Tobi, you have to give it to her. You have to give girls gifts if you want them to like you” Max insists 

Tobin laughs “who told you that” 

“Aunt Kelley” Max says “Go Tobi give it to her” 

Tobin huffs but starts walking towards Christen. “Okay why don’t you place those shells on the castle while I give it to her” 

Max goes towards the castle and starts to place the shells around it. Tobin slowly walks up towards Christen who is now sitting in the beach chair reading her book. 

Tobin walks up to Christen and than just stands there. Christen can feel Tobin’s presence. Mainly because her shadow is blocking her sun. 

But she doesn’t say anything and continues looking at her book waiting for Tobin to say something. But a minute passes and she doesn’t say anything. 

“Tobin if you hurt my kid” Christen starts to say but she doesn’t get to finish before Tobin interrupts her 

“No I didn’t. I swear. Max is fine” Tobin says. 

Christen closes her book after folding the page over to mark her place and looks up at Tobin with her eyebrows raised. 

“Um I got you this” Tobin rushes out as she stick ls her hand out with the shell to give it to Christen. “Well Max found it and told me to give it to you”

Christen smiles. She likes seeing Tobin all flustered so she feels like now is a good as time as any to keep teasing her. “Oh so my son got me a gift and you’re just trying to steal his thunder”

“No, No I swear. He told me to give it to you. That it was pretty and if I wanted a girl to like me I need to give them gifts” Tobin tries to defend. She is cursing Max right now his whole plan is back firing. 

Christen smiles and stands up out of the chair to walk up towards Tobin. She grabs the shell out of Tobin’s hand and exams it. After she looks at it for a couple seconds she wrapped her hand around Tobin’s neck. She leaned in and gave her a kiss on the check. 

“Thank you Tobs. It is really pretty. I will make sure to keep it forever. Now show me this wonderful castle of yours” Christen says grabbing Tobin’s hand to lead her towards Max and the sandcastle. 

•

After they finished their sandcastle and had the sandwiches they packed for lunch, Tobin and Max found themselves in the water. 

Tobin was holding Max and they were jumping in the waves. As they are jumping Max spots something in the distance. “Tobi look. Surfers” 

Tobin looks to where Max is pointing and he sees them. “Yeah thats right they are surfing. You know I can surf?” 

“What! You can?” Max says in amazement looking back at Tobin. 

“Yeah I can, me and your Aunt Kelley go alot” Tobin says

“Mommy won’t let me.” Max says with a pout on his face. Than rapidly a smile forms on his face “maybe you can teach me in secret” Max whispers to her. 

“Um I don’t know about that. I think your mom would be upset. But I will talk to her” Tobin says as they go back to jumping with the waves. 

•

They spent the whole day at the beach. It was getting close go dinner time so they figured it was time to head out. They are packing up the jeep and getting Max all buckled up. 

Max is buckled in his seat and the girls are by the trunk. Tobin is scratching the back of her neck. She is nervous to ask Christen what she wants. 

She use to be so confident in front of girls, but for some reason Christen makes her like a nervous little school girl. 

“So um Chris, like I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house for dinner, and maybe stay the night. You and Max” Tobin stutters out

Christen smiles, that idea sounded perfect to her. “I would have to go home to get stuff and” 

Tobin cuts her off before she could finish “You can wear my clothes and I may have bought stuff for Max and um I have my guest bedroom all set up for him” Tobin blurts out. But when she realizes what she said a blush creeps all over her face. Than she looks down at the ground embarrassed. 

Christen uses her fingers to lift Tobin’s head back up to look at her. Christen leans in and gives Tobin a quick peck on the lips. She than leans her forehead on Tobin’s. 

“I would love to Tobs” Christen says. 

•

Later that night when Christen and Tobin were cuddling in bed. “You know you have a sneaky son” 

“Oh do I” Christen says and she turns to face Tobin. 

“Yeah, he wants me to secretly teach him how to surf, because you won’t let him.” Tobin says smiling 

“Ughh ever since he saw Kelley surf once he has been wanting learn” Christen says 

“So why won’t you let him?” Tobin asks

“Because I don’t want him to get hurt.” Christen says

“I don’t want to step on your toes. He is your son. But I could teach him. And I promise to make sure he is safe.” Tobin says 

“Can I think about it” Christen questions 

Tobin shakes her head yes. Christen smiles and leans forward to give Tobin a chaste kiss before she turns back over to go to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys thoughts, any ideas or any constructive criticisms.


	11. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all spend some time together. Things get heated. Some Christmas action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I am sorry it is taking so long. This chapter was longer in my head but I didn’t want you guys to have to wait any longer for inspiration to strike, I don’t know if anyone else is feeling it, bu quarantine has me lacking any motivation. But I hope you enjoy this chapter

The next week was spent in a very similar fashion. They would go to the beach, the park, the movies, and the soccer field. Frankly they would do anything as long as it meant they could spend time together 

A couple of the nights Christen and Max stayed at Tobin’s Manhattan beach condo. Those were Tobin’s favorite parts of the week. She loved going to sleep cuddled with Christen and then waking up in the same position. 

Tobin did get Christen to agree to let her teach Max how to surf. But Christen made sure to say if anything happened to Max that Tobin would never see the light of day again. To which Tobin promised to not let him get a single scratch on him.

So today was the day that Tobin was going to teach him. Christen was going to go out shopping with her sisters. She contemplated for a while whether or not she was comfortable with not going to the beach. It had nothing to do with her not trusting Tobin, because she did, she knew that Tobin wouldn’t let anything happen to her son. But she was still nervous that something could happen and she wouldn’t be there for her son. 

But after much convincing from her sister she decided to go shopping with them and leave Max and Tobin alone. After she thought about it, it was probably best that she didn’t go because she would just be a distraction with her nervous and anxious energy. 

*

It was the perfect day for Tobin to teach Max how to surf. The weather was perfect. The waves were calm so if would be perfect for Max to get his grippings. 

Tobin may have bought Max a tiny surfboard that was perfect for him without either of the Press’ knowing the day Christen had said yes. The surfboard was white with blue stripes and Max loved it. She could have rented one for him to use for today, but Tobin was hoping this could be a more regular occurrence than just once.

She got Max set up on the sand first so he could practice the motions. She placed her surfboard next to his so that he could mimic her movements. She showed him how he should lay on the board. She showed him where he should put his hands and his feet. She showed him how he should hold his head up to check his surroundings. 

For about the next half hour they went through the motions of what Max should do in the water. How he should push himself up on the board so he could stand, and then how to stay standing up on the board.

Tobin still wanted to practice with him in the sand but she could tell that he was getting antsy and wanted to get in the water. So Tobin finally relented and took him into the water. 

They got into position not too far out into the water. Tobin saw the perfect wave coming and told Max to get ready, and when she yelled go he started his movements. 

It took him more than a few times to finally be able to stand up on the board without falling off. But he finally did it. He was so happy he started yelling back at Tobin. Tobin was so proud. She got so much joy out of teaching people new things, especially Max, and especially when they reacted like that. 

After that Max was unstoppable. He would catch every wave and ride it standing up. He was a natural. 

Tobin could tell a storm was coming because the waves started to get choppy. She told Max that this would be his last wave. She made a promise to Christen and she planned on keeping it. 

The wave comes and Max catches it. But he doesn’t stay up for long as he slips off his board as the wave crashes. He goes under and Tobin thinks she blacks out when he doesn’t come right up. She dives into the water in search of him. 

She comes up empty handed, but when she comes up she sees Max standing there looking at her. Tobin feels relieved that he was fine. She couldn’t live with herself if anything had happened to him. 

They quickly get out of the water, dry off and gather their stuff. As soon as they get all settled in the jeep the rain starts to come pouring down. 

“Tobi” Max says 

“Yeah buddy what's up” Tobin says as she turns around to look back at him. 

“Thank You for teaching me.” Max says 

“Of course buddy.” Tobin says 

*

That night after Christen got back to Tobin’s apartment after spending the day with her sisters it was late so Max was already ready for bed and was just waiting for Christen to tuck him in. 

She opens the door and starts to walk in but before she can even get inside and say anything Max jumps out of the bed and runs towards her. 

“Mommy” Max shouts 

“Hi baby” Christen says, hugging him tightly. They walk to the bed and Christen gets him all tucked in. She then lay downs next to him. 

“How was your day?” Christen asks him.

“It was so good. Tobi taught me to surf. I stood up. She bought me my own surfboard.” Max rambles off

“She bought you a surfboard?” Christen questions

“Yeah it’s small for kids, and it's blue and white. She is so awesome” Max says as he smiles. 

“Well that was nice of her.” Christen says. “Now let's read this book and get you to bed.”

After she reads Max his book she gets out of the bed. She kisses him on the forehead. “I love you” She says as she walks to the light and shuts it off walking out the door to Tobin’s bedroom. She grabs her clothes and heads into the ensuite bathroom to get ready for bed. 

When she gets in bed under the covers she turns to Tobin to give her a kiss. Tobin tries to deepen the kiss, but Christen stops her. Tobin frowns. 

“Wait, we need to talk.” Christen says. This makes Tobin so nervous. It is never a good sign when a woman says they need to talk. “So I was talking to Max about his day and he told me something” Christen starts to say seriously but Tobin interrupts her. 

“I was going to tell you. He was okay. He just fell off for a second and got caught in the wave. But he got up by himself. I was more scared than he was.” Tobin rambles off, not wanting Christen to be mad at her. 

“Tobin what are you talking about my son got caught in the wave” Christen angrily says 

“He was surfing the wave and then he slipped. The wave crashed and he went under. I got so nervous so I jumped in after him. But I didn’t find him and then when I got back above the water he was just standing there staring at me. I was so nervous he was going to be hurt or something worse. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him.” Tobin says trying to stay as calm as possible. 

Christen sits silently for a while just taking in all the information that Tobin had just told her. “Tobin, I need you to breathe for a minute. Max is a four year old boy. I am so happy that you took protecting him so seriously. It's such a motherly instinct that I don’t think you even realized you had. I hope that me saying my son better not have a scratch on him or else, didn’t panic you too much. He is a young boy and he is going to get hurt. This is just making me like you even more.” Christen says as she leans in to kiss Tobin. 

“I just got so scared Chris, I know you were skeptical of letting him surf in the first place and I didn’t want anything to go wrong. I wanted it to be perfect.” Tobin said

“Well it was perfect for that little boy in there. He was so excited to tell me everything about today.” Christen said 

“Okay. Good. So if it wasn’t about the wave what did you need to talk to me about” Tobin asks. 

“Oh yes, stop trying to buy my kid” Christen playfully slaps Tobin

“Ow what do you mean, I am not trying to buy him” Tobin laughs out

“You bought him a surfboard. You should have told me, I would have given you money for it” Christen says 

“Chris no, I don’t want your money. I swear I am not trying to buy him. I just um. I thought about renting him one that was perfect for his size. But then I decided to buy one for him because um I was hoping we could surf more than just today. So I wanted him to have his own surfboard so he could feel like it was his, and um I guess to save me money. So I swear I wasn’t trying to buy him off.” Tobin rambles off

Christen smiles and leans in and kisses Tobin passionately this time. Deeper than they got to earlier. “He would love to do it everyday with you if he could. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but you are incredible.” Christen whispers to her and goes back in to continue kissing her. 

*

It was a couple days later. Tobin and Christen were spending the weekend apart. Tobin had to quickly fly to Portland to do some stuff with the Thorns. 

So Christen’s family was having a little BBQ. It was going to be her parents, Tyler and her husband, Channing and obviously Max. 

Christen, her sisters and her mom are sitting on the deck watching Max run around the yard with the dogs. It is a beautiful California day. It is not too hot out and there is a small breeze. 

“So how are you and the girlfriend” Tyler teasingly asks 

Christen rolls her eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend” 

“But you want her to be” Channing says 

“I mean of course I do.” Christen says 

“So why aren’t you official yet.” Stacey Press asks

“I don’t know. She hasn’t asked yet. I guess we aren’t there yet.” Christen responds nonchalantly. 

“I know I have never been in a relationship with a girl but why does it have to be Tobin that asks.” Tyler questions.

That question stunned Christen. To be honest she never thought of that. She was always asked. All the males she dated always asked her out, and Vero asked her out. I think she just kind of assumed Tobin would do the asking. I mean she was the one that asked her out for the first date.

“To be honest I never thought of asking her out myself. But I think I would like to do that. Maybe not right now. I am still nervous. Like what if she is too good to be true.” Christen says, starting to play with her fingers.

“I thought that about your father when we first started our relationship. Like how could this amazing human be real, and how could he be all mine. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. But it never did and it has been the best years of my life, and all I had to do was forget about the fears, and the what ifs and live in the moment with him.” Stacey responds trying to reassure her middle daughter. 

“I used to have fears with Will before we got married. But I always knew that even if it ended tomorrow, I wouldn’t change it for the world, because being with him brought me so much love and joy, which made it all worth it.” Tyler said 

Both things that these two women were saying was making complete sense to Christen. She just needs to let go of her fears and jump all in with Tobin, because she can’t imagine her life without her in it. So she decided she was going to do something about it. She was going to be Tobin Heath’s girlfriend. 

“I haven’t really had a serious relationship, but what they said” Channing said trying to lighten the mood and make her older sister laugh. 

Christen laughs “Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. I think after this camp I am going to ask her.” All the girls at the table smile. 

“Food is ready” Cody says to the girls bursting the little bubble. But Christen couldn’t be happier, to be back in the states with her family, have her son sitting next to her, and thoughts of Tobin floating around in her brain

* 

It was now December camp. Yet again Tobin and Christen had to sleep separately. Christen got her own room with Max and she was rooming with Alex this time. 

It was day two of camp. Kelley had wanted to spend some time with her nephew. So she was taking him to the park and then they were going to get some ice cream. 

They had finished at the park and were now sitting at a small table in front of the ice cream place. Kelley got a strawberry frozen yogurt as she was at camp and trying to follow the diet. Max got chocolate ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and gummy bears. 

“So little man how have you been” Kelley asks 

“Great” Max says, continuing to stuff his face with the ice cream. 

“Oh yeah why is that” Kelley asks

“Mommy let me learn to surf” Max says, still focused on his ice cream and paying little attention to Kelley. 

“Oh did she. Thats awesome buddy.” Kelley says 

“Yeah it is awesome. Tobin taught me” Max says 

“Well that was nice of Tobin.” Kelley says taking another spoonful of her yogurt. 

“Yeah it was she is awesome” Max says 

“I am sorry our plan didn’t work out” Kelley says

“Yes it did” Max says. A little confused at what Kelley was saying. 

Now Kelley was confused. Last she knew the two girls were upset with each other and upset with her and not speaking to each other. “What do you mean Max” 

“Mommy, Tobin and I hang out all the time” Max says seriously 

“Oh honey that doesn’t mean they are together” Kelley says sadly not wanting to hurt the little boy's feelings. 

“Well they hold hands and kiss when they think I am not looking, and we have sleepovers at Tobin’s like all the time” Max says

This is shocking to Kelley. She needs to have a word with her so-called best friends. “Hurry up and finish that I need to speak with your mother” Kelley says looking at the little boy still rapidly shoving his face with his ice cream. 

*

Tobin and Christen finally have some much needed alone time. No fear of Max hearing them or walking in on them. It was just them. They are kissing like crazy. Like this was the only thing they were meant to do in their lives. 

Tobin’s tongue slipped inside of Christen’s mouth, at first it was gentle but demanding, and it’s nothing like she had ever experienced before. But as time passed the speed and roughness increased. 

She had finally understood what people described when they described these magical moments. She felt like she was molding into Tobin. She felt like they were becoming one. 

Christen grabs onto Tobins hair, trying to pull her closer as if she wasn’t already close enough. She continues to move and thread her hands through Tobin’s hair as the make out continues. 

Christen’s insides feel like they are burning up. She can start to feel herself getting wetter by the second. She had never felt like this before, never felt so turned on in her life. 

Tobin maneuvers Christen so that she is laying on her back, and then Tobin gets on top of her so their fronts are pressed together. Christen feels different at this moment. This feels different than all their other make out sessions. 

She can feel all of Tobins breaths, all of her tiny movements. She can feel Tobin’s fast heart beat. She can even smell the smell that is distinctly Tobin. The best smell she could ever imagine. She wants to breathe her in every second of the day. 

Tobin’s lips taste like mint, probably from the gum she is always chewing. Christen feels Tobins hands everywhere, and it doesn’t matter that her mouth is already on top of hers, she wants her closer. 

Christen reaches for the hem of Tobin’s shirt, trying to take it off of her. Tobin breaks the kiss to sit up and look at Christen. She is breathing heavy. 

“Are you sure” Tobin asks in between breaths

“Yes baby. I am sure” Christen says. Continuing to try and take Tobin’s shirt off. Tobin lifts her arms up so Christen has an easier time getting the shirt off. The shirt is off and Tobin is just in her sports bra. 

Christen can’t help but stare at how sexy the woman in front of her is. She has seen Tobin shirtless before many times in the locker room. But she never got to be this close and admire every part of her. 

Christen moves her hand slowly up and down Tobin’s rock hard abs, making sure she feels every indent of her stomach. 

Tobin can’t help but blush under the intense stare of Christen. She starts to get goosebumps from Christen’s movements all over her stomach. 

Christen figures now is the best opportunity to take advantage of Tobin’s distractions to flip the girl so she was on her back, and Christen was now on top. 

Tobin took a second to regain herself. That move was so hot. She can feel the tingling start. She knows if she stuck a finger down there she would be dripping wet. 

She wraps her arms around Christens neck. Moving one hand up to the top of her head to pull Christen back down to her. 

As the make out starts to get heated again, Christen starts to move into it. With their centers aligned the friction is making Tobin go crazy. 

Christen breaks the kiss because she is out of breath and needs to breathe. 

“Can I please take your shirt off” Tobin asks Christen

Christen just shakes her head. Tobin proceeds to take Christen’s shirt off leaving her in her bra. Tobin is amazed.

She won’t lie and say that she hasn’t pictured what Christen looked like under all her clothes. Especially when she was alone and in need of a release. But the real thing was better than anything she could have ever imagined. 

The kiss starts to get heated again when there is a knock on the door. “Just ignore it” Tobin says. But again there is another knock this time louder. “They will go away” Tobin says before diving back into the kiss with Christen. 

But again the knocks keep coming. This time hard and rapid with no break. “I have to get it baby. It could be important” Christen says getting off of Tobin and out of the bed. 

She starts to walk towards the door. “Wait, your shirt” Tobin says, tossing it to Christen. Christen smiles at her and puts the shirt on to go and answer the door. 

She looks through the peephole and sees that it is Kelley. But Max is not with her so she quickly opens the door. “Kelley where is my son” 

Kelley hears the question but completely ignores it barraging into the room. “Kelley wait stop” Christen says

But of course Kelley ignores Christen and continues completely into the room until she is front of the bed. Staring at a shirtless Tobin. Tobin freezes for a minute before she jumps into action and puts on a shirt. 

“Oh my god, Oh my god” Kelley shouts “You two” Kelley starts pointing back and forth between the two woman.

“Kelley what are you doing here?” Tobin said through gritted teeth. The mood from earlier completely ruined the moment Kelley saw her. 

“Oh yes. I can’t believe you two tried to make me feel bad about the date. This whole time I thought you guys were mad at me but in reality you guys were shacking up in LA” Kelley says 

“Well serves you right for medaling” Christen says smiling “How do you know we are shacking it up” Tobin said at the same time. 

“Well your son told me that you guys have sleepovers, and that you kiss and hold hands when you think he doesn’t see. But he obviously does. And for meddling it was your son's idea because he said that you needed a girlfriend.” Kelley smugly says 

“Oh” Tobin says blushing 

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me what was going on. But I am happy for you. I will let you get back to having sex.” Kelley says laughing as she is walking out. 

“We are not having sex. Can you please bring back my son wherever he is” Christen says before the door closes behind Kelley. 

Christen walks over to the bed where Tobin is still sitting leaning against the headboard. She belly flops onto the bed and groans. 

“I know neither of us have dicks, but I cannot believe Kelley just cock blocked us” Tobin says laughing 

“I also can’t believe we weren’t sneaky and my son saw us kissing” Christen says laughing 

“I know. But while we are alone for the next minute, I would really like to kiss some more” Tobin says leaning towards Christen lips. 

*

Camp has ended and it's about a week before Christmas. Tobin and Christen are cuddled on the couch watching an old Arsenal game. 

“When are you leaving” Christen sadly asks Tobin. 

“Two days.” Tobin said. She was going to the east coast for Christmas to spend it with her family. 

“When do you come back?” Christen asked 

“Right before January camp” Tobin tells her. But that is a lie. She is actually coming back December 28th so that she could be here for Christen's birthday and New years. 

“Can we have our own little Christmas, just me, you and Max when you get back?” Christen whispers out. 

“Of course babe. I would love nothing more. And um maybe on Christmas morning I could FaceTime with you guys when you open presents” Tobin shyly says. 

“I would really like that” Christen says, turning to give Tobin a kiss. 

*

It was Christmas Eve, or Christmas morning depending on where you are located in the world. The Heath family just got home from midnight mass. Tobin told Christen she would call her when she got home. So here she was laying in bed the FaceTime call ringing. Waiting for Christen to answer. 

_ “Hello baby” Christen says through a yawn _

“Hi. Were you sleeping” Tobin says into the phone

_ “I was taking a nap.” Christen says on the other end of her call, while sticking her tongue out at Tobin.  _

“Okay. How was your night?” Tobin asks 

_ “It was good. Gran Fran made some eggnog, we sang Christmas carols, watched a year without a Santa Claus. Read Max the night before Christmas. Then spent the rest of the night getting all the presents wrapped. Only thing I have left to do is put them under the tree when this call ends.” Christen rattles off the events of the night “How was yours baby”  _

“It was really good. We baked cookies. And by we I just put some icing on them with my nephews. Church was good, the sermon was really good.” As Tobin says that Christen lets out another yawn. “Why don’t you go to sleep babe. I know you had a long day and tomorrow will be another long one.” 

_ “Are you sure? I miss you and I want to talk to you” Christen says _

“I am sure. Remember to call me in the morning when you are opening presents.” Tobin says 

_ “Goodnight Baby, I won’t forget” Christen says  _

*

It is Christmas morning. Tobin and her family had already opened their gifts and had breakfast. 

Tobin got her sisters different necklaces and earring sets, She got Jeff some new fishing stuff, she gave her mom and dad a little vacation package to the Caribbean. 

Her sister Perry got her a new skateboard, and Katie got her a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads, Jeff got her a couple new sketch pads, and her parents got her a playstation 4 with a couple games. 

The Heath family was always minimalists when it came to gifts. It was more about giving and spending time together as a family than giving a bunch of extravagant gifts.

They had a nice big breakfast with eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausages. It was wonderful. 

But now Tobin was sitting in her room waiting for the call. The moment her phone rings she slides the answer button. She is surprised to see the face on the screen when she answers it. 

*

Max is waiting for the call to go through. As soon as Tobin’s face is on the screen, his face lights up. “Tobi, Merry Christmas” 

_ “Merry Christmas buddy. Did Santa come?” Tobin asks him _

“Yeah he did. But mommy says I have to wait here. So I don’t peak” Max says 

_ “Speaking of mommy, where is she?” Tobin asks  _

“I don’t know. Did Santa come to you?” Max asks

This had Tobin panic a little bit. What did Christen’s family do? In her family they just said after a certain age Santa stopped bringing them presents, but maybe that is not how her family did it. Thankfully Christen walked in at that very moment and saved her. 

“Present time mommy” Max asks looking up towards his mom. 

“Yeah it is” Christen replies as she grabs the phone from Max who is handing it off so he can run down the stairs. 

“Do not open anything until I am down there young man” Christen yells towards her son. 

_ “Good morning beautiful” Tobin says _

“Good morning baby. Merry Christmas.” Christen says as she walks into the living room to where her whole family is now situated ready to open presents. 

They all took turns opening presents. Christen had gotten Channing a yoga mat, and a book with odd poses to try. She got Tyler and Will a date night package for dinner and a movie. She got her mom a necklace with her and her sister's birthstones and it and it said mom. She got her dad a master grilling kit. 

Christen got a couple sweaters from Channing and Tyler that she had pointed out to them when they were shopping, and also a yoga mat. Her mom and dad had gotten her a new kitchen set. Max had made her a homemade picture frame with a picture of the two of them. 

Now Max on the other hand was spoiled rotten. Stacey and Cody had gotten him a soccer net and soccer ball for him to play with at their house in the backyard, Channing got him a couple new lego sets, Tyler and Will got him a couple board games.

Santa also spoiled him rotten. He got a bike with training wheels and a helmet to go with it, he got some new nike sneakers, and a scooter. 

Christen had gotten him some new Dr. Suess books, a remote control car and some marvel action figures. 

Christen thought they were done so she started to clean up the wrapping paper. 

“Wait there is one more back here.” Stacey says handing the box to Christen 

On the top of the wrapping paper it says to Christen and Max. “Who is it from?” Christen asks. But her whole family just shrugs. 

“Max help me open it.” Christen says 

Max wastes no time in ripping open the package. When he rips the wrapping paper off, there is another box. He takes the lid off. There is a note on top of it. He knows you always have to read the cards first so he hands the note to his mom. 

“Christen and Max, I know we are going to have our own Christmas when I get back but I wanted you to have something to open on Christmas. Tobin.” Christen reads off. She looks over to her phone that is leaned up facing the room so she could see everything. 

“Tobin” Christen whines out 

_ “Just open it” Tobin says smiling.  _

So Max continues to open it. In the box are two mickey mouse ears and a note that says I am going to Disneyland. 

Christen looks again at Tobin wanting an explanation. 

_ “I thought when we are at January camp on our off day we could go to DisneyLand together.” Tobin says from the phone.  _

“Yayyy.” Max shouts 

Christen doesn’t know what to say she is speechless. “Thank You, Tobin” Christen says 

“Thank You Tobi” Max says, going up to the phone camera and giving it a kiss. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again feel free to leave a comment on what you thought, any ideas you have that you would like to see, or any constructive criticisms you may have.


	12. California Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen’s Birthday and January Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found some inspiration for this chapter so I was able to write it pretty quickly. Hope you guys enjoy it. This was definitely one of my favorites. As always comment what you thought, any ideas you have or want to see, or constructive criticisms you may have.

Christen and Max were in the living room of her parents house building one of his new lego sets, when she heard a knock at the door. She was hoping one of her parents would get it because she did not feel like getting up. But when another knock came she knew she would have to get it. 

She got up and walked to the door. When she opened it she was speechless. There Tobin was standing in the doorway with a bouquet of flowers. “T-To-Tob” Christen stutters out before Tobin interrupts her.

“Tobin” Tobin smiles, finishing what Christen couldn’t get out. 

“W-What are you doing here” Christen is still in shock of the person standing in front of her. 

“I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t want to miss your birthday.” Tobin says smiling at Christen 

“But your family” Christen says 

“They understand this was the plan all along. I went earlier than normal, because I was going to leave early” Tobin says 

This causes Christen to playfully slap Tobin. “So you knew all along, and you lied to me and told me you wouldn’t be back until next week.” 

“Well that is the whole point of a surprise.” Tobin giggles out

“Shut up” Christen says 

“So I was hoping me, you and Max could have our Christmas now” Tobin questions

“Of course. Let me get Max and all the presents.” Christen says 

*

When they get to Tobin’s apartment, Christen put the presents under the tree. Tobin disappeared into her bedroom. She came out in a pair of pajamas and had two pairs in her hands. 

“I thought we could all match.” Tobin says 

Max jumps up and grabs his pair and runs to what he has been calling his room. Christen walks over and grabs hers and gives Tobin a kiss. “Since when did you become such a softie” She continues to Tobin’s room to change. 

Once Max and Christen finished changing they came out to sit in front of the tree where Tobin was waiting. “So I figured we could open presents, then make cookies and then I am going to make us dinner.” Tobin says look at Christen waiting for her approval. 

Christen shakes her head yes. So Tobin goes and grabs the first present to hand to Max. 

He doesn’t waste any time in opening the present. It is a wet suit. “Tobi for me” Max asks 

“Yeah buddy all for you so we can match. It might be a little big for now but you will grow into it.” Tobin says. She hands the next present to Christen. It was a small box.

Christen started to open it. When she opened the small box it was a gold heart locket. She looked up at Tobin. “Open it” Tobin nudges her along. So Christen opens the locket. Inside is a picture of the three of them from the time they went to the zoo. With the biggest smiles on their faces.

“Tobin, I love this” Christen says 

Max gets impatient so he grabs his present to give to Tobin. When Tobin opened it up it was an orange snapback that said Big Buddy. “Because I am your little buddy” Max says looking at Tobin. Tobin can’t help but let a little tear slip from her eyes. “Tobi don’t cry” 

“It's a happy tears bud. Come give me a hug.” Tobin says as she puts the box down to open her arms for Max to jump into. “I love it.” She says. 

When their moment is over. Christen says that it is her turn. She grabs the box. It may have been the biggest one there. She calls Max over and whispers something in his ear. So he runs back towards his room. 

When Tobin opened up the box, it was a bunch of art supplies between canvas’, paint brushes and paints. 

“Thanks babe. This is awesome.” Tobin says when she finishes going through the box.

“I feel bad because you got me such an amazing gift and I didn’t.” Christen says looking down and playing with her fingers. 

“No babe, stop this gift is amazing.” Tobin says 

Before Christen can say anything back, Max comes running out. Tobin looks up and sees Max in a Thorns jersey. But it wasn’t the one she got him. It was the one for next season. 

“Hey buddy, when did you get that jersey.” Tobin asked

“Mommy got it for me” Max says. Tobin looks at Christen. 

“Why don’t you turn around sweetie.” Christen says. Max listens and turns around so the back of the jersey is facing Tobin and Christen. On the back of the Jersey it was the number seventeen, but above it, it didn’t say Heath. It said something else. 

The letters read Mommy’s GF. Tobin stares at it for a minute or maybe longer. To be honest she had no idea. Then she kept looking back and forth between the jersey and Christen. “Tobin, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes” Tobin blurts out and turns to give Christen a kiss. The only thing that breaks them apart was Max saying eww. “I can’t believe you bet me to it. I was going to ask you”

“Well I got tired of waiting.” Christen laughs.

*

They made Christmas cookies, decorated them and of course they ate some. For dinner Tobin made sweet potato fries because she knows how much Christen loves fries, parmesan crusted chicken breasts and caesar salad. 

Christen said she loved it, and that she takes back ever dissing Tobin’s cooking skills. To which Tobin said she may or may not have practiced with her mom when she went home. 

They were now laying in bed cuddling and talking when the clock struck midnight. “Happy Birthday baby” Tobin said as she leaned over to kiss Christen. Christen moved her hands to grip Tobins hair. 

Things start to get heated quickly. Tobin is on top of Christen when she moves her hand from behind Christens head to move down Christens body. She slowly inches her hand under Christen shorts. 

She looks at Christen to see if it is okay. Christen gives her a nod so she continues. Tobin starts to rub Christen’s center over her underwear. She can already feel that Christen is wet. She rubs Christen center for a little bit when she moves her hand back up to slip under her underwear.

Tobin runs her fingers through Christen’s lips a couple times to coat her fingers. Christen is already so wet it is starting to make her wet. Tobin starts rubbing small circles around Christen’s clit. That causes Christen to let out a tiny moan. 

“You have to be quiet baby” Tobin says, as she continues to rub Christens' clit. Tobin slowly sticks one finger inside Christen. She gives Christen a second to adjust, then she starts to move her finger in and out. Tobin is going to add a second finger. 

But before she can do that, she hears the door start to open up and Maxs’ voice saying mommy. Tobin quickly rolls off of Christen and lays next to her. She can’t help but think cock blocked again, and she definitely has to start locking the door. 

Max comes and climbs up on the bed. “Happy Birthday Mommy” Max says, giving Christen a nice sloppy kiss. 

“Thank you sweetie” Christen says, squeezing her son. 

“Can I sleep with you tonight” Max questions

Christen looks at Tobin to see if it is okay. Tobin shakes her head yes. “Okay honey you can sleep in here tonight.”

With that confirmation Max jumps off the bed. “I have to get my teddy” He says as he runs to get his bear. 

Christen leans over to give Tobin a kiss. “I am sorry we got interrupted again babe.” 

“It’s okay. We have plenty of time, you are my girlfriend now so you are stuck with me.” Tobin says giving her one more peck. 

Max came back in and jumped right in between Christen and Tobin. He gave Tobin a kiss on the check and then turned to give Christen one. “Goodnight” Max said to the women. That is how the three of them feel asleep. Max in the middle, and Christen and Tobin on either side of him. 

*

That morning Christen and Tobin are sitting on the couch watching Max play with some Lego. 

“Are you going to stay here the whole day? We could do something? I could make dinner again?” Tobin asks 

“I actually have dinner with my family tonight” Christen says 

“Oh. Cool.” Tobin says. Her mood drops. She was really looking forward to spending as much time with Christen as possible. 

“You could come” Christen asks her

“No. It’s okay. I wouldn’t want to crash your dinner with your family.” Tobin says

“You wouldn’t be crashing. I want you to come. As long as you would be okay with meeting my family.” Christen says

Tobin laughs. “Chris I already have met your family” 

“You met my parents. But not as my girlfriend, and you’ve never met my sisters” Christen says 

Tobin wasn’t nervous before but now she was. She started to rub the back of her neck. Meeting your girlfriend's family was a big deal. But she was all in. So she was ready for it. 

“I want to come. I am ready to ImPress.” Tobin says, emphasizing the word press. 

Christen rolls her eyes at her girlfriend. But gives her a kiss. 

*

Tobin is looking through her closet trying to find what to wear for the dinner. She doesn’t usually dress to fancy but she knows she has to for tonight. She is not totally against dresses; she will wear them, but she never feels comfortable in them. 

“Babe do I have to wear a dress” Tobin asks

“Not if you don’t want to.” Christen shouts from the bathroom where she is straightening her hair. 

So Tobin decides on black dress pants, white button up shirt and a black blazer. The outfit reminded her of what her and the team would have to wear before game days when she played for PSG. But she always felt she looked good in that outfit, and she was definitely comfortable. 

After she got dressed she went into the living room to wait for dinner. She was sitting on the couch playing some FIFA when Max comes running out in just some underwear. Tobin looks over at him and laughs. 

“Tobi can you help me get dressed.” Max asks

“Of course buddy.” Tobin says turning of the game and following Max into his room

Laid out on the bed was a pair of khaki pants, a white button up shirt, tan suspenders and a tan bow tie. Christen must have put it on his bed before she went to go get ready.

Tobin helped get Max dressed and fixed his hair that was a little messy. Just as they were finishing Christen came into the room. She was wearing a red dress with a slit on the side exposing her right leg. She was wearing red heels. Her hair was straight and she looked gorgeous. 

“You guys ready?” Christen asks

“Yes mommy, Tobi dressed me” Max says going to stand in front of his mom. 

“You look very handsome.” Christen says. “Go wait by the door for me” She says as Max runs to the front door. “You look beautiful” Christen says as she walks to stand in front of Tobin. 

“Not as good as you look right now. I mean you are stunning baby.” Tobin says leaning in to give Christen a quick kiss. “Lets go before we are late” Tobin says

*

When they pull up to the restaurant Christen turns to Tobin. “Are you ready” 

“As I’ll ever be” Tobin says. Opening the car door to get out. She opens the back door to get Max out of his car seat. When she puts him down he grabs her hand while they walk in the parking lot. When Christen makes her way around the car she grabs Max’s other hand. 

Tobin holds the door open for her two Press’. When they walk in, the rest of Christen’s family is already there. When they get to the table Tobin removes her hand from Max and starts to rub the back of her neck. 

“Guys this is Tobin. My” She pauses for a second “My girlfriend” 

“Nice to see you again Tobin” Stacey says

They all go and sit down at the Table. “So who asked who” Tyler asks, not having the patience to wait any longer. 

Tobin blushes. “I did” Christen says 

“Wow sis, I didn’t think you had it in you” Tyler says. 

They order drinks, some appetizers as well as what they plan to have for dinner. While they are waiting the conversation is flowing. “So Tobin, what are plans when your soccer career is over. Cody asks 

“Wow dad way to not beat around the bush.” Channing says.

Tobin thinks for a minute. “To be honest, I am not sure. I plan to play soccer for as long as it will take me. So I haven’t thought past that. But I guess I don’t think I could ever walk away from it. Maybe coach.” 

Cody shakes his head “So are you going to let my daughter win when you play Utah” Cody says with a straight face Tobin can not tell if he is joking or not. 

“Dad” Christen shouts 

“Umm.. No.” Tobin says “I like your daughter a lot, but I also love the game. I respect the game, and I respect your daughter. I know personally I wouldn’t want someone to take it easy on me, I would want to get the win from a team giving their best and I would hope that Christen feels the same way.” Tobin says 

Before anymore conversation can happen the food is brought out. The rest of dinner flowed smoothly. They were all finished eating, Cody spoke up. “Why don’t you guys head back while me and Tobin wait for the bill” 

Tobin looks at Christen who is staring at her and shakes her head, signifying that she will be okay. The rest of the family stands up and gets ready to leave. “Be nice dad” Christen says, as she walks out of the restaurant. 

“Can I chip in something for dinner?” Tobin asks 

“No Tobin. That is not why I asked you to stay. But thank you for offering.” Cody says “So, why my daughter? Why now” 

“Um. I guess as for why your daughter, she is amazing. From the moment I met her all those years ago I knew she was special. She has this thing that I can’t pinpoint but I just know it's special. Her motivation on the field and off it, the drive to be better today than she was yesterday is something phenomenal that makes me want to be around her. Obviously I think she is gorgeous and beautiful on the outside but I think it's more about what is on the inside for me. The way she is around Max, how much of an amazing mother she is makes me like her even more. She told me about what happened in the past with everything and she could have just given up but she didn’t she just pushed through and came out stronger on the other side. As for why now, I don’t have another reason then when I saw her again at that game I couldn’t risk letting her go again.” Tobin rambles out

Cody smiles at her answer “I guess my next question then is Max. He is her child that is a big deal.” 

“I know. I know that Max is the most important thing in Christen's life and I will always come second to him. I am okay with that. Max is a special kid and I love that boy. It is more than him just being Christen’s kid. I know that me and her have to be extra careful because of him. But i have no plans to do anything to hurt him. Or either one of them for that matter.” Tobin rushes out

“You think you are ready to be a parent?” Cody questions

“Probably not. My mom told me no one is ever ready. But when Christen feels the time is right for me to step into that role I will do my very best to be the best I can be. I think I had good role models growing up and I hope I can be that someday.” Tobin says 

“When that time comes you are going to have to stop being the fun big buddy and spoiling that kid. You are going to have to put your foot down and discipline that kid. I like you Tobin. My daughter seems to like you, you make her happy. So until you give me a reason otherwise I like you too. Now let's get out of here.” Cody says, getting up from the table. 

*

New years eve went in similar fashion, the main difference was they were not in fancy clothes. They spent it at Christen’s parents house watching the new year’s eve special and playing board games. Max insisted for every game he had to be on Tobin’s team. 

They drank and ate unhealthy snacks. When the clock struck midnight Christen and Tobin shared a new year's kiss. Tobin couldn’t remember the last time she shared a New Year’s kiss that was meaningful. 

This also wasn’t how she normally spent her new year’s eve, normally she went out to a bar or a club, drank a lot and found some girl to kiss at midnight at take home for some fun. But she wouldn’t change this night with Christen, Max and their family for anything in the world. She hopes she can do this every year for the rest of her life. 

*

It was time for January camp. Christen and Tobin drove to the training center in Carson, California together. Max was staying with Christen’s parents for the first week of camp and then would come after.

When they arrived at the hotel they went in to get their room assignments. Christen would share a room in the beginning with a teammate until Max came. Tobin just hoped that it would be her. But of course that was not the case. Tobin got roomed with Heather and Christen was roomed with Kelley. 

When they got in the elevator to head up to the room, Tobin was just pouting in the corner of the elevator. “Tobs, what’s wrong” Christen asks

“I just wanted to room with you.” Tobin says 

“I wanted to room with you too. But we can’t. It's okay. We will still spend as much time together as we can.” Christen says giving Tobin a quick peck before the elevator door opened. 

*

Christen and Tobin were walking back inside after practice. “Heather said she is going out to run some errands, do you want to come to my room?” Tobin asks Christen

“Yeah just let me go shower.” Christen said 

“Or you could come to mine and we could shower together.” Tobin suggests winking at Christen 

“Okay” Christen says 

They stay in the lobby talking until they see Heather leave the hotel and then they head up to Tobin’s room. When the door closes to the room Tobin presses Christen up against the door, kissing her hungrily. She wastes no time grabbing the hem of Christen shirt to lift it over her head. 

Christen follows suit moving Tobin towards the bathroom and taking her shirt off. By time they get into the bathroom they are both only left in their underwear with a trail of their clothes left behind. Tobin closes the door and turns the shower on. 

She looks over every inch of Christen’s body, memorized by it. Christen does the same thing before she slowly slips off her underwear and steps into the shower. Tobin, not wanting to waste a single moment of their alone time, quickly strips out of her last piece of clothing and follows Christen into the shower.

They begin by standing under the stream of water kissing, before Tobin pushes Christen up against the shower wall. Tobin begins sucking on Christen’s left breast. She can hear Christens breathe start to become labored so she knows she is doing something right. She moves to the right breast to make sure she gives that one the same attention. 

When she hears Christen let out a moan, she starts to move down her body leaving trails of kisses all the way down her front. Tobin gets on her knees and starts to spread Christen’s leg. She swipes her finger through Christen's lips to see how wet she was. She then rubs her clit. 

Tobin really wants to taste her. She moves Christen's leg so it is now resting on her shoulder. She slowly starts to move her face closer when there is a banging on the door startling both Tobin and Christen. 

“Tobin I swear to God, I can not believe you are hooking up with some random girl in our bathroom right now. You have five minutes before I come back and she better be gone” Heather shouts from the other end of the door. 

“Dammit” Tobin says getting up from her knees. Christen laughs a little at the whole situation. “Stop laughing it is not funny.” Tobin pouts 

“It is a little funny.” Christen says, giving Tobin a quick but meaningful kiss. “Now let's quickly shower before she comes back.” 

*

When Tobin walks in to breakfast the next morning she grabs her food and goes and sits at an empty table to wait for Christen. Christen normally was there before her but she decided to do a longer yoga session this morning. So here she was first. 

Christen comes into the conference room and grabs some food. She then goes and sits down next to Tobin. “Good morning babe” Christen whispers to Tobin. 

“Goodmorning, I wish I could kiss you right now” Tobin says 

“Me too.” Christen says 

At that moment Kelley comes and plops down at the table. “So Tobin I heard about some shower escapades. You dirty dog” Kelley smiles at them, this causes Tobin’s face to turn bright red in embarrassment.

Christen also blushes in embarrassment. “I didn’t know you had it in you Pressi.” Kelley says to her old Stanford roommate. 

“I can’t believe Heather blabbed, but nothing happened.” Tobin said 

“Yeah nothing happened so could you please not spread anything.” Christen begs

“Don’t worry I won’t spread anything, I will save the spreading for Tobin to do the next time you are alone.” Kelley starts laughing as she gets up and leaves the table. Leaving the two women bright red in embarrassment at the whole interaction with Kelley. 

*

A week had passed and today was the day that Max would be showing up to camp. Christen and Tobin were sitting on a couch in the lobby waiting for Max to get dropped off. Max walks through the sliding glass doors with his grandparents behind him. 

As soon as he sees his mom he runs straight at her. He gives her the biggest hug a four year old could give. “I miss you mommy” He says into her ear like it was some sort of secret. 

“I missed you too” Christen says, giving him kisses all over his cheeks. 

Max looks over and sees Tobin “Tobi” He shouts reaching his arms out towards Tobin. Tobin walks over and grabs the boy so she could give him a hug too. 

At that Jill walks over. “Christen we are having trouble getting a single room at the moment. The hotel overbooked. But we are working on it.” She says 

“Tobi can we have a sleepover tonight?” Max whispers in Tobins ear

“Jill I can switch with Kelley and stay in the room with Christen. It's not a big deal.” Tobin says 

“Are you sure? Christen is that alright with you” Jill asks

“Yeah it's okay. I don’t want to cause any trouble, this seems like the easiest course of action and I am sure my little man will be thrilled to have a sleepover.” Christen replies

“Okay that works for me. I will let Kelley and Heather know.” Jill says walking away 

“Yayy a sleepover” Max shouts

*

That night after dinner, after Tobin moved all the stuff into her new room for the rest of camp, they were all getting ready for bed. Tobin was searching for a movie on the tv for them to watch. “Tobi?” Max quietly says

“Yeah buddy, whats up?” Tobin says looking over at the boy. 

“Can you sleep in my bed? You always share with mommy. Is it my turn?” Max asks his voice low afraid of what the answer might be. 

This warmed and broke Tobin’s heart at the same time. It warmed her heart because of how much the boy wanted to spend time with her. But it broke it because she could see the small amount of hurt in his eyes at feeling like he is losing Tobin because she would rather spend more time with her mom. 

“Let me go talk to your mom and I’ll be right back.” Tobin says getting up from the bed walking towards the bathroom where Christen is doing her nightly routine. 

“Chris, is it okay if I share the bed with Max tonight.” Tobin asks ‘

“Why?” Christen whines out “I miss cuddling with you” 

“I think Max is maybe getting a little jealous. He asked if I could sleep with him tonight.” Tobin say

Christen pouts “I guess. But I get you tomorrow night.” Christen says 

“That works for me” Tobin responds

“Maybe I should talk to him tomorrow about what is going on, and his feelings towards all this.” Christen says thinking out loud. 

Tobin shakes her head leaning in to give Christen a goodnight kiss before she walks out of the bathroom.

“We are having a sleepover” Tobin shouts, jumping on the bed bouncing the little boy causing him to giggle out. Tobin gets under the covers and then Max moves over towards her leaning his head on her chest. Max quickly falls asleep and so does Tobin. 

When Christen walks out of the bathroom she sees the two already passed out. She can’t help but snap a picture of the two of them looking cute as ever. She sends the picture to Tobin’s phone so she can see it when she wakes up. 

*

The next morning after Christen does her yoga, she walks back into the room to see Tobin and Max in the same position as she left them. She goes over to the bed and shakes Tobin awake. “Hey babe, you should get up to go to breakfast.” 

“Are you coming?” Tobin asks, still groggy from her sleep. 

“Yeah, I will. I want to talk to Max first.” Christen says. 

Tobin shakes her head. She gets up, gets dressed, does her morning routine in the bathroom and heads out the door to go to breakfast. Christen takes her place in the bed. She cuddles up to Max for a little bit, before she decides to wake him up. 

Christen starts to kiss Max on his forehead. “Wake up honey” Slowly Max starts to move opening his eyes. He looks up at his mom. 

“Where’s Tobi? We have sleepover?” Max questions a frown starting to form on his face.

“You guys did. She just left to go to breakfast. I wanted to talk to you” Christen says 

“I in trouble?” He questions

“No sweetie, not even one bit. I promise” Christen says swiping some of his hair away from his eyes. “I just wanted to talk to you about Tobin”

“What about Tobi?” Max asks 

“She told me last night about what you said when you asked to have a sleepover with her. Does it make you sad that we have sleepovers at her house a lot?” Christen questions her son looking down at him

“No, I love staying at Tobi’s. She is the best. But she was my friend first. But she likes to hang out with you more.” He says playing with his mom hands 

Christen’s heart broke at that statement. That was something she hadn’t really thought of. It wasn’t her he was missing, it was feeling that Tobin was his friend not his moms. She never put much thought into what it would feel like to get to meet and hang out with your idol and then have it slowly dwindle away. She imagines it doesn’t feel well. 

“Oh sweetie that is not true at all. Tobin loves hanging out with you. She is still your friend honey, that is not going to change.” 

“Okay, mommy” Max says 

“So are you okay that Tobin is my girlfriend? Do you know what that means?” Christen questions her son. 

“Yeah. I like Tobi as your girlfriend. I make her your girlfriend. She makes you smile big. You happy. It means you guys kiss and hold hands.” Max says 

Christen laughs at his explanation of what a girlfriend is. She also laughs at how he thinks his little plan with Kelley worked to get them together. “Yeah sweetie. That's close enough. So are you sure that it's okay that Tobin is my girlfriend. 

“Yeah mommy. It okay. Can we go see her now.” Max asks 

“Yeah of course.” Christen says as they get out of bed. 

*

After Max finishes eating his breakfast he runs to go play with Ryan. “So how did the talk go” Tobin asks her girlfriend.

“I think it went okay. But I think you should talk to him. I think he thinks you aren’t going to be his friend anymore because we are dating. He thinks you just want to spend time with me.” She says 

“Man, I am sorry. I should have thought of that. I will talk to him though.” Tobin says 

“Okay. But he is happy that we're dating. He says I smile more. He thinks he made it happen.” Christen says smiling at Tobin. 

“I mean technically he did, he was the one wearing the jersey” Tobin says laughing, earning her a glare from Tobin. “Well I am going to get him and talk to him.” 

Tobin and Max are holding hands walking around the little garden area the hotel had. “So buddy I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“Is it about what I said” Max ask looking up at her

“Yeah it is. Your mommy told me that you think I don’t want to hang out with you anymore.” Tobin says 

“It feels that way.” Max says letting a small tear fall from his eye. Tobin sees that so she kneels down to be eye level with him. 

“I am sorry I made you feel that way. But you are and always will be my little buddy.” Tobin said 

“That's what mommy said. But we don’t have our Tuesday lessons anymore. When we come over you cuddle mommy, and kiss mommy and sleep with mommy. We don’t get to hang out like before.” Max says

This breaks Tobin’s heart. She completely forgot about their Tuesday lessons. They had just been spending time together almost everyday; she didn’t think it would affect him. Then with the holidays things got crazy. But now she realized those days were very special to him, mainly because it was just the two of them. She knows she was paying attention more to Christen now and she felt terrible for making Max feel this way. 

“I am so sorry buddy. I didn’t even realize I was doing that. Me and your mommy are going to kiss, and cuddle and sleep together because we really like each other, but that doesn’t mean I love you any less than before.” Tobin pulls him in for a hug and gives him a kiss on the forehead. “I have an idea, how about for the rest of the off season Tuesday will be our day. The whole day just me and you, we can do whatever you want and then you can sleep over my apartment just the two of us without your mommy?” 

Max smiles after hearing that offer. “But what about mommy? Won’t she miss us.” 

“I am sure she will. I know she misses you every second she isn’t with you. But I think she can find something to do without us.” Tobin says 

“Okay Tobi. Thank You. I love you.” Max says, giving Tobin a slobbery kiss. 

“I love you too buddy” Tobin says picking him up and carrying him back into the hotel. 

*

Today was finally the off day which meant that they were going to Disneyland. They started off in Adventureland. The first attraction they went to was Tarzan’s Treehouse. While they were waiting in line Tobin could see a nervous energy coming off of Christen. 

“Babe, what's wrong” Tobin whispers in her ear. 

“Um, I don’t like heights.” Christen whispers back. 

“You can sit this one out” Tobin replies 

“Are you sure” Christen questions

“Yeah, I got him.” Tobin says 

“Max honey, I am going to sit this one okay.” Christen says. Max just shakes his head engulfed in the ride in front of him. 

When it is their turn for the attraction the two of them clamber up the 80 foot tall tree, and cross the rope bridge. Max is fascinated by the vines that are overgrown and the parts of the ship left from the shipwreck. When they get to the treehouse they see different inventions and pieces of work from Tarzan’s life story. 

They also get to see sketches in a sketchbook that Jane had drawn in. But they also get to see amazing views from the top of the tree and they get to look over the whole park. 

Before they can leave they have to explore base camp and look at the scientific equipment Jane left behind, a magic lantern, cooking gear and musical pots. 

They walk out of the attraction and walk over to wear Christen is sitting on the bench. “How was it” Christen asks 

“Was so cool. We were so high” Max says as they start to walk to the next attraction. He continues to ramble on all about what his mom missed out on. 

When they finished exploring the adventureland area they proceeded to New Orleans Square where they rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Christen and Max sat in the front of the car and Tobin sat in the back. 

The ride floats down the waterfall and through the water. They have to navigate cannon fire between a fort and a 12-gun galleon. They pass through an auction of goods. Max sings along when “Yo Ho (A pirate's life for me)” comes on.

When the ride ended and they stepped back on to the platform Max was jumping up and down. He loved the ride and he made sure everyone knew, with how loud he was rambling about it. 

After that area they went to Critter Country, followed by Frontierland. Christen really wanted to do Mark Twain’s Riverboat experience. Max was not fond that he had to stop the rides he wanted to go on but he relented. 

It was a fourteen minute trip around Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island on an old-fashioned steam-powered vessel. They got to see the north bank of the Columbia Gorge, with the waterfront and five waterfalls, a rustic frontier cabin, a native american village, a busy beaver chewing on the train trestle and so much more. 

Christen loved it, and she could tell Tobin was too. When she looked over at Max she could also tell he was super into it as much as he opposed in the beginning. 

Fantasyland was probably Max’s favorite place because it had the most attractions for him to take part in. This was also where It’s a small world was located, one of Disney’s most famous rides. 

Mickey’s Toontown area created a whole new trouble they weren’t ready for. It was the Gadget go coaster. When he got next to the attendant holding the height bar he wasn’t tall enough. 

“I am sorry you aren’t tall enough” The attendant said 

“But I want to ride it” Max whines

“Hey bud it’s okay. We can ride it next time.” Tobin says 

“No!” He screams “I want to ride it now” He starts to stomp his feet

“You can’t buddy, you are too short.” Tobin tries to reason with him

“It's not fair I am always too small.” Max starts to cry into Tobin’s leg. 

“You won’t always be this small buddy. When you grow up big and strong you will get to ride everything.” Tobin says picking him up so she can carry him on her side. “How about we get mommy and go to Mickey’s and Minnie’s houses, so we can meet them and take some photos.” 

Max shakes his head yes and they start to walk away from the ride. 

Tobin’s favorite part of the day was at Tomorrowland when they went on the Finding Nemo submarine voyage. The ride took them on an ocean adventure to find the missing clown fish . You were able to see all the fish characters from the actual movie and Tobin found it so cool. 

As they were walking out of the park with Max in the middle and Tobin and Christen on either side of them holding hands they all had big smiles on their faces. “Mommy I’m tired” Max says 

“We are almost to the car sweetie” Christen says 

“But I don’t want to walk anymore” He whines out 

Tobin reaches down and picks Max up to carry him the rest of the way to the car. “Thank you Tobi. Best day. Love you” Max says sleepily and is out like a light before they even reach the car. 

*

The next week of camp was rough for Tobin. Her play on the field was struggling. Every part of her game was not at its best. Her crosses were off, shots way off target, and her tricks were not successful. Not to mention her anger was coming out in full force. 

It was the last day of camp. Tobin was dribbling the ball down the field and Kelley went in for a slide tackle. It was a little late so instead of the ball Kelley got Tobin's ankle. That set Tobin off. Tobin jumped up and got in Kelley’s face. 

“Kelley what the fuck was that!” Tobin shouted in her face

“Bro chill” Kelley said 

“I will not chill. That was a bad tackle and you know it!” Tobin shouted again. 

“Tobin, go to the locker room. You are done.” Jill says, having enough of Tobin’s attitude the past couple of days. Thus resulting in Tobin storming off the field. 

Kelley walks over to Christen. “What’s with her.” She asks 

“I don’t know. Something has been off with her for the whole week but she keeps saying she is fine.” Christen says 

Kelley walks over and looks at Jill silently asking if she can go talk to her friend. Jill shakes her head yes. So Kelley walks into the locker room. “Tobs” Kelley calls out walking around. 

She sees Tobin sitting on the bench with her leg shaking rapidly. She goes and sits down on the bench next to her and places her hand on Tobin’s knee to stop it. 

“I am sorry for going off on you” Tobin shyly says 

“It’s all good man. But what is going on?” Kelley asks 

“I am just so frustrated” Tobin says 

“Why” Kelley questions

Tobin knows why but she is not sure she wants to tell Kelley. “I am sexually frustrated” Tobin mumbles 

“What” Kelley asks not hearing what Tobin says 

“I am sexually frustrated” Tobin says a little more clearly 

“Oh. It's just a couple weeks Tobs, once camp is over you will be able to doing it again.” Kelley says 

“No, Kel we haven’t had sex yet.” Tobin says while she starts to blush 

“What?” Kelley says shocked 

“Yeah we haven’t yet, and everytime we get close someone interrupts and I am so horny and Christen is so hot and sharing a bed every night is not helping. I have not gone this long without sex since I don’t know how long ago. So I am so sexually fustrated and all I can think about 24/7 now is having sex with Christen. So my playing is poor and it is making my anger flair up.” Tobin rushes out 

“I am sorry Tobs. I am sorry I ruined one of those moments. But I am proud of you.” Tobin looks at Kelley questionably. “I am proud of you because of how serious I know you are taking it because you and Christen haven’t had sex yet. It will happen soon. Talk to Chris and plan a night when you can be alone when this is over okay.” 

Tobin shakes her head yes at Kelley letting her know she understands. “Okay I have to get back out there, but take a shower and cool down” Kelley tells Tobin as she walks out of the locker room.

When Kelley walks back out onto the field. Christen spots her and walks over to hopefully get some answers. “What’s the matter” Christen asks 

“She is sexually frustrated” Kelley nonchalantly says 

“What” Christen asks 

“She is horny, you are hot and she wants to have sex, she essentially has blue balls.” Kelley says running to get back into practice leaving Christen blushing bright red. 

  
  



	13. The First of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin and Max have their day together. Christen and Tobin have a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not happy with this chapter. I am still hitting writers block but wanted to give you something. This chapter has smut but if you don’t want to read it is marked and you can skip it. Its my first tome writing smut so it probably sucks

After camp it went back to how it was prior to camp. It was the first Monday since camp and Chris and Tobin were sitting on the couch at Christen’s parents house watching some Television. 

They had agreed to limit the staying over at Tobin’s apartment as to not move too fast and confuse Max. They still spent most of the time at Tobin’s though. 

“So I forgot to tell you. Or I mean I guess ask you if it was okay. But when I was talking to Max at camp. I may have promised him that we could spend all day on Tuesdays together including a sleepover.” Tobin says 

“Oh Tobin that is so sweet. Of course that is fine. I wouldn’t want to have it any other way.” Christen says overjoyed 

“Um but just me and him” Tobin pauses. “Without you” 

“Oh” Christen says. She isn’t sure how she is supposed to feel that her girlfriend wants to spend time without her, but it's with her son so it's giving her mixed feelings. 

“I just don’t want him to feel like I am choosing you over him. I want him to know I am choosing both of you.” Tobin rushes out

“It's a lovely idea. You just better call me before he goes to bed tomorrow” Christen says leaning in to give Tobin a peck. 

*

Tuesday morning came faster than Tobin was ready for. She woke up and got in her Jeep to go pick up her little buddy. 

When she got to Christen’s parents house the Press’ were already outside waiting for her. When Christen saw Tobin pull up she picked up Max’s car seat to put in Tobin’s jeep. 

Tobin hopped out of the car and walked up to Christen. She grabbed the car seat from Christen’s hand, gave her a peck on the cheek and went to strap the car seat into the vehicle. 

When Tobin got it all set up she turned around to pick Max up and put him in the seat. Once she got him all buckled up she got out of the way to let Christen say goodbye to her son.

“Bye honey. Have fun today with Tobin. Make sure you behave and listen to everything she tells you. If you need me tell Tobin and she will call me okay. I love you” Christen says leaning down to give her son a kiss. 

“Love you, mommy” Max says in return. 

Christen closes the door and turns to Tobin. She gives her a kiss. That is a little longer than a peck bur makes sure to keep it G rated. 

“Make sure to call me before he goes to bed” Christen says 

“I wouldn’t miss it if my life depended on it. Actually my life probably does depend on it.” Tobin says laughing trying to lighten the mood. 

Christen rolls her eyes and walks away to head back into her house. Allowing Tobin to get in the jeep. 

*

As Tobin and Max are driving down the road Tobin looks in her rearview mirror at Max. “So buddy how does breakfast sound?” 

“Can I get pancakes!” Max shouts. 

“Yeah buddy you can get whatever you want” Tobin says as she pulls into the parking lot of the diner. 

They walk in and sit on the same side of the both. Tobin orders eggs benedict for herself with a coffee and a stack of pancakes with chocolate milk for Max. 

“Tobi, what we doing today? Max asks

“Well I thought after breakfast we could go to the soccer field” Tobin said 

“Yes” Max shouted. At that moment the waitress brought over their food. “Can you cut this for me Tobi” Max asked 

Tobin nods her head and picks up the knife and fork to start cutting his pancakes. Halfway through breakfast max looks over towards Tobin’s plate. 

“What's that Tobi?” Max questions her 

“It’s eggs benedict. It’s like eggs, ham, bread and a special sauce.” Tobin answers the little boy. 

“I like eggs and ham.” Max says. Tobin laughs at the little boy. “Can I try” 

“Sure” Tobin says, getting a forkful ready for the little boy. Max takes the forkful into his mouth. He starts to chew but his face quickly turns to disgust. 

“Swallow and then quickly take a sip of your milk” Tobin tells the boy. 

Max does exactly what Tobin tells him to do. “I not like that Tobi” Max says 

“That’s okay buddy. But I am glad you tried it. It's always good to try new things” Tobin says, ruffling the boy's hair.

*

After breakfast they spend the rest of the morning at the field. Tobin teaches Max all the basics. He is a fast learner and Tobin thinks if he really put his mind to it he could be a star. 

After the field they find a taco truck in the park to have for lunch. Tobin buys a variety of tacos for them to try. Max doesn’t like a lot of them but he has at least one bite to taste test. 

*

After lunch they go to the park and Tobin sits on the bench watching Max run around the playground with some of the other kids. When another woman comes and sits on the other end of the bench. 

“Your son is very cute” the woman says to Tobin. 

“Oh thanks, but he’s not mine” Tobin responds to the woman 

“Oh so you’re a nanny. I could use a nanny as good looking as you.” She says winking at Tobin. Obviously flirting. 

Tobin can tell she is flirting. In the past she probably would have jumped at it but not right now. “No I am not a nanny” Tobin says on the verge on being rude 

“Oh? Well maybe we could set up a playdate with the kids so we could spend some more time together.” She says moving closer on the bench. 

“No thank you” Tobin says starting to get uncomfortable 

“Oh why not beautiful” the woman says 

“Because that is my girlfriend’s son and I would appreciate it if you left me alone.” Tobin spits out angrily getting up from the bench to walk over to where Max is. 

*

Tobin and Max quickly left the park after that to head back to her apartment. They watched a movie before Tobin started to cook dinner. 

Tobin made them some chicken and homemade macaroni and cheese knowing that Max would like it. After dinner Tobin got Max all bathed and ready for bed they FaceTime Christen. 

“Hi mommy” Max said into the phone as soon as he saw Christen’s face on the phone. 

_ “Hi baby. I missed you today. Did you have a fun day with Tobin?” Christen says as she is happy that she is getting to talk to her son.  _

_ “ _ Yeah mommy it was so fun. I had pancakes. Played soccer. Went to the park. We had tacos! Eggs Beneduct” Max says looking at Tobin for help

“Eggs Benedict” Tobin says helping the young boy out. 

“I try eggs benedict. They gross” Max says 

_ “That sounds like a really fun day.” Christen says  _

“It was mommy.” Max says, fighting sleep trying to keep his eyes open. 

_ “I think it is time for you to close your eyes and go to bed. I love you baby. Goodnight” Christen says blowing a kiss through the phone.  _

_ “ _ Goodnight mommy. Love you too” Max says laying his head on the pillow. 

Tobin walks into her room still on the phone with Christen. 

“How was your day babe?” Tobin asks 

_ “It was good. But I missed you guys.” Christen said with a pout _

“Well how about I repay you with a date on Thursday? Just me, you and a romantic dinner?” 

_ “That sounds lovely Tobs” Christen says  _

“I’ll see you in the morning when I drop the little man off” Tobin says

_ “Goodnight Tobs” Christen says, ending the call _

*

It was Thursday finally the night of their date. Tobin picked Christen up at her parents house in her jeep and they headed for the restaurant. 

Conversation was flowing and it was wonderful. 

“So I know when I went to dinner with your parents they asked me what I want to do after soccer, but have you thought about it?” Tobin asks 

“You know to be honest I have. I am not locked into something I plan to play for a while longer but I would either like to do something in the psychology field, you know helping people or maybe run my own business” Christen says 

“I see it. I know you like being in charge” Tobin smiles and says 

*SMUT*

After dinner they hold hands on the way back to the car. They drive back to Tobins apartment. 

As soon as they walk into the apartment, they both feel the air change and they know what is coming. Tobin reaches her hand behind Christens neck to pull her forward. She leans in slowly until their lips touch.

They move until Christen’s back is leaned against the door frame of the bedroom. The kiss starts to get sloppier. Tongues fighting for dominance. Christen has both of her hands on Tobin’s face and Tobin has her hands roaming up and down from the top of Christen’s back down to her thighs. 

Tobin walks them backwards toward the bed. When the back of Tobin’s knees hit the bed she lays down on top of it, with Christen following close behind on top of her. They continue to kiss feverishly while their fronts are pressed together. 

They continue kissing, while Christen moves her hand to grab onto Tobin’s breasts through her clothing. Squeezing softly. Tobin moves her hand down Christen’s back until she reaches her butt. She grabs it, moving it back and forth on top of it.

“Your ass is amazing” Tobin rushes out when the kiss breaks 

Christen uses this break in the kiss to grab the hem of Tobin’s shirt and lift it up her body. Christen struggles to get it all the way off so Tobin helps throwing it across the room when she finally gets it over her head. 

Christen doesn’t waste anymore time unclasping Tobin’s bra and removing that as well. Christen leans back down to lay on top of Tobin. Christen takes Tobin’s left breast in her mouth. She switches from sucking the nipple to licking it. 

Hearing Tobin’s moans just egg her on to continue the motions. Christen uses her right hand to grab Tobin’s left breast and squeeze it. After she gives the left breast enough attention she moves to the right and continues the same action. 

When Christen is finished she moves back up to continue her attack on Tobin’s mouth. Tobin is used to taking charge but she likes Christen like this. But she wants to be in charge now. So she sits up so Christen is now straddling her.

Tobin uses this moment to take Christen's shirt off. She takes Christen’s right breast into her mouth. Moving her tongue in a circular mouth around the bud of Christen breast. 

Christen is feeling amazing. She thinks she might cum with Tobin laying a finger on her. She grabs Tobin’s face in between her hand and passionately kisses her again. She could never get enough of kissing Tobin. 

Tobin breaks the kiss to go back to Christen’s breasts. Tobin was never a big boob girl but she thinks Christen is perfect. She is using her tongue to lick all around Christen’s boobs listening to the moans coming from Christen's mouth to see what she is liking the most. 

Tobin, with the help of Christen, gets Christen’s pants off so she is just left in her underwear. This gives Tobin better access to Christen’s ass. Tobin uses this time to let her hands continue to roam over it, while she leans back down onto the bed. 

Christen moves from on top of Tobin to slide Tobin’s jeans down her legs slowly. She moves her hands to when the top of Tobin’s briefs are, and looks at Tobin asking for permission. 

“I want this more than anything.” Tobin breathes out 

That is all the confirmation Christen needs and slides the underwear down her legs in the same way the jeans did prior. Once Tobin is completely naked Christen moves back up to kiss Tobin some more. 

Christen kisses her way down Tobin’s body starting at her collarbone, then moving to her breasts, and down her stomach making sure she paid attention to each ripple of the older girl's abs. 

When Christen reaches the place Tobin wants her most Tobin slides herself up the bed to make sure the younger girl has plenty of room. When Tobin is all settled Christen gets to work quickly on making the girl completely fall apart beneath her. 

She uses her thumb to rub circles over her clit. She then places kisses all around the surrounding areas. Tobin lets out a loud moan and Christen looks up at her and smiles wide. 

That is all she needs to let her tongue swipe through the length of Tobin’s slit a couple times before she finishes on the location she knows will drive Tobin crazy. Christen's tongue moves in a circle motion. She switches between sucking and licking.

She continues that for a little while before she starts to pick up speed. The faster she gets the louder Tobin gets. 

She moves her mouth away from Tobin’s center to slowly stick one finger inside Tobin. When she feels Tobin adjust to her she begins to slowly move her finger in and out. She moves her tongue back to Tobin’s clit while continuing to move her finger in and out of Tobin. 

Tobin moves both her hands to thread then through Christen’s hair. “Oh my!! Christen yes!” Tobin shouts out

Christen speeds up her fingers motion, feeling Tobin start to shake beneath her. “I am going to cum Chris” Tobin rushes out

This makes Christen pick up speed. Christen angles her fingers in just the right spot and Tobin comes undone below her. She waits for the girl to come down before she removes her finger. Licking all of Tobin’s juices from her fingers. 

She moves back up to kiss Tobin. Tobin can taste herself on Christen lips and she has never thought something tasted so good. Scratch that she thinks when she gets to taste Christen that will be the best thing she has ever tasted. 

This kiss for what feels like hours. Tongues fighting for dominance. Christen moves her center against Tobin’s while Tobin’s hands are on her butt. 

“It's my turn” Tobin says as she continues the kiss but moves them into a sitting position so Christen is straddling her again. Tobin moves to kiss Christen’s neck where she will surely find a mark tomorrow morning. Then she moves to Christen’s earlobe eliciting a moan from the younger girl. 

Christen is now leaning back on her hands ready for Tobin to take charge. Tobin licks her fingers before moving them to rub Christen’s center of her lace pantiers. Christen starts to rock back and forth to allow for more friction. 

Tobin can feel Christen wetness through her underwear and she can definitely get used to this. And she can definitely get used to the moan and repeated yes’ that are coming from the younger girl. 

Tobin moves Christen so that she is now between her legs and gives her a quick peck and smiles at the darked haired woman before kissing her way down the girls body. Tobin licks the inside of both of Christen’s thighs knowing it would drive the girl crazy. 

Tobin can’t wait any longer so she quickly rips the lace from Christen's body leaving her with nothing in the way. She licks up and down the length of her slit a couple times. She takes it slower than Christen did with her. Wanting to work the girl up more. 

Tobin uses her two fingers to slide and squeeze around her center a couple times before resuming her earlier actions. She moves her tongue until it is right where she wants it. Moving it in and out of Christen’s. 

“Yes! Tobs! Yes! Don’t stop” Christen screeches

So Tobin does as she is told and keeps going as the younger woman crumbles. When Christen cums Tobin smiles into Christen’s center but doesn’t stop. She only stops when she has licked up all of the remaining juices. 

When Tobin finishes she jumps up to capture Tobin’s lips in hers again. They lay side by side trying to catch their breaths. 

“Tobs that was amazing” Christen says 

“That was more than amazing. I am glad we waited. I like how loud I can make you” Tobin says, turning her head to look over at the girl 

“You are pretty loud too.” Christen says sticking her tongue out at her. 

“Only for you.” Tobin leans over to give Christen a peck on the lips. “Give me five minutes and we are going again” 

“You are a horny teenage boy.” Christen laughs at her girlfriend

“Maybe I am, but I am going to take advantage of this alone time” Tobin says, laying down and closing her eyes in complete bliss. 

They both cum three more times that night and that morning. Neither one of them got much sleep that night but neither one of them cared at all. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think, if you have any ideas for where this story can go to help with my writers block or any constructive criticisms you have.


	14. Pictures are worth a Thousand words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They leave for preseason. A picture changes things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is doing well.

It was time for the women to head back to their club teams for preseason to start, and it was rough for both of them. 

They had gotten so used to being able to spend so much time together they weren’t ready for the time they would now have to spend apart. 

The day before Tobin was leaving to go to Portland she woke up before Christen. She was having trouble sleeping knowing the sadness that was coming the next day. 

She was just laying behind Christen, who fit perfectly into her like a puzzle piece, holding her as tight as she could. 

The tight squeeze woke Christen up, but she knew how Tobin was feeling because she was feeling the same way. So she waited a couple minutes before she snapped Tobin out of it. 

“Tobs, honey I can’t breathe” Christen smiled as she said it. This caused Tobin to remove her arms that were wrapped around Christen. “Hey I didn’t say let go” When Christen said that Tobin wrapped herself around Christen again. 

“What’s going through your head” Christen asks as she turns over to face Tobin. 

“Um. I don’t want to leave you, and Max. I am going to miss you guys” Tobin says 

“We are going to miss you too.” Christen said 

“And I am scared” Tobin shyly says 

“What are you scared of, baby?” Christen asks, pushing a strand of Tobin’s hair behind her ear. 

“Um the distance. What if it ends up like… like Shirley.” Tobin struggles to get out 

“Oh baby. I don’t know what is going to happen. But I can assure you it will not end up like it did with Shirley. I am going to try and visit you as much as I can, and I hope you can come to me. We will have the national team camps hopefully. We will just have to try the best we can baby, and communicate with each other.” Christen says, stroking Tobin’s cheek. 

“Okay. Um so I started making a schedule. But I suck at planning. So um maybe today you could help me and we make one together?” Tobin quietly says to Christen 

“How did I get so lucky with you? But I would love to build a schedule with you” Christen says as she leans forward to place a kiss on Tobin’s lip. 

*

They spent the rest of the day making a schedule, packing some of Tobin’s things she planned on taking and just spending time together.

They just finished watching a movie. “Okay Max head to your room, and I will be in to get you ready for bed in a minute.” Christen says 

“Can Tobi do it?” Max asks 

“Yeah of course buddy” Christen says as Max runs down to his room. Tobin gets up a couple seconds later giving Christen a peck and heading to get Max ready for bed. 

Tobin helps Max brush his teeth, get his pajamas on and tucks him into bed. Then she grabs the book Max picked out and lays down next to him. 

She starts to read the book to Max before she gets interrupted. “Tobi” 

“Yeah buddy what's up” Tobin asks him

“I don’t want you to leave” Max says 

“I know buddy. I wish you guys could come with me. But you have to go with your mommy to Utah.” Tobin says closing the book 

“I no like Utah” Max pouts 

“Why not buddy? Your Aunt Kelley is there, and Ryan” Tobin says 

“But far from you” Max says a tear starting to form in his eye 

“I know buddy. But I am going to try and visit as much as I can, and we will still Facetime on Tuesdays and have lessons. And you can call me anytime you want” Tobin says, pulling him into her. 

“I will miss you” Max cries out

“I will miss you too. Buddy so much” Tobin says just holding him until she hears the soft snores coming from him. 

She gets up and walks out of the room and into her bedroom where Christen is getting ready for bed. She goes up behind her to just hug her. 

“This is going to be harder than I thought” Tobin whispers to her

“I know baby. I know” Christen says 

*

They were at the airport dropping Tobin off for her flight. Tobin tried to tell the Press’ that she could just take an Uber but they refused. Christen said she wanted to spend every last second together. 

Once Tobin got all of her bags out of the trunk and pulled them up to the sidewalk. She picked Max up into her arms and gave him a big hug. 

Christen came up and joined in on the hug. Tobin gave Max a kiss on the forehead. Then gave Christen a kiss. She tried to put all the feelings into that kiss. 

“I am going to miss you guys so much. I will call as soon as I land.” Tobin says

“4 weeks babe. 4 weeks.” Christen says giving Tobin one last kiss before taking Max out of her arms and watching Tobin walk into the airport. 

“Mommy, Tobi make you sad?” Max says 

“No Tobin makes me so happy. I am just sad she is leaving.” Christen says 

“Me too mommy. But you have me. I make you happy” Max says

“You do baby. You make me the happiest” Christen says placing Max into his carseat. 

Meanwhile in the airport Tobin just got into the line for baggage check. 

“It's always hard to leave your family” a stranger on the line says

“Yeah it is” Tobin says. Family. Yeah they are definitely her family. 

*

The next two weeks were tough for sure, but they were making do. They FaceTime and texted as much as they could. They both were busy with pre-season, but they made sure to find the time. 

They usually tried to eat dinner together on FaceTime every night. Occasionally Tobin would read Max his bedtime story. Tobin and Christen would talk every night before they fell asleep. 

It was a Friday night and Tobin was going out to a bar with a bunch of the Thorns players. They had a rest day the following day so they wanted to let loose a little bit. 

Tobin may have had a little too much alcohol that night, something she will definitely regret in the morning. 

*

The following morning was not something Christen could have planned to happen. She had just finished her yoga, while she was waiting for Max to wake up she started to scroll through her social media. 

What she did not expect to see was a bunch of articles with a picture of Tobin with a girl sitting on her lap, and a Title of “Soccer star Tobin Heath and her new girlfriend?” 

This made her feel sick to her stomach. She wanted to get up and throw up. Her palms started to get sweaty and she thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. 

After a few minutes she started to calm down. She wanted to give Tobin the benefit of a doubt. Of course she was angry but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and she wanted to give Tobin a chance to explain. 

**Christen: good morning**

*****

The next morning Tobin woke with a major headache. When she opened her eyes she was cursing herself for not silencing her phone when she went to sleep the night before because it kept going off. 

When she looked at her lock screen she had a bunch of texts from Allie and Alex. She also had one from Christen. She figured she would answer Christen’s first before checking her other ones. 

**Chris 😍: good morning**

Tobin knew something was wrong at that moment. Normally Christen sent her a nice sweet motivational message every morning right after she finished yoga. 

But not today. Not only was it only a basic message she didn’t even use capitalization and punctuation. Christen was always getting on Tobin to text better, so the fact that the younger girl didn’t was a red flag. 

She was trying to wrack her brain for what could possibly have made the girl mad. Maybe something happened with Max and she was upset. She wasn’t sure. 

She figured she would ask Alex and Allie and see if they had any advice. So she switched to their text thread without answering Christen. 

When she opens it up she sees something that makes her sick. It's a link to an article. She clicks on the article and sees that it's a picture of her and some random girl from the bar last night. 

“Fuck” she says before texting Allie and Alex to meet at the cafe down the street in an hour. She then goes and hops in the shower. 

*

**Christen: Kelley can you please come over. I need**

**you.**

**Kelley: I will be over in 5 minutes.**

When Kelley walked into Christen's house it was oddly quiet. “Christen” Kelley called out. When she got no answer she continued to call out for Christen and she went around the house. 

When she walked into Christen's bedroom she saw the woman curled up in bed. She heard sniffles coming from under the covers. 

She slid into the bed and wrapped her arms around Christen. “I am here. I am here” Kelley whispered 

After a few minutes Christen finally started to speak. But Kelley couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“Honey I can’t understand you.” Kelley says 

“I think Tobin cheated on me” Christen gets out between sobs 

“What!” Kelley shouted. Shocked at the statement that just came out of Christen’s mouth. She can’t believe it, she knows how much Tobin cares for Christen. How could she do such a thing. 

“She cheated on me” Christen gets out before she breaks down. 

“How do you know?” Kelley says, needed to get all the facts together 

“I saw the picture and she is ignoring me” Christen says 

“What picture?” Kelley asks. Christen just reaches behind her to grab her phone and push it toward Kelley. Kelley looks at the picture and is shocked. 

She pulls out her phone and texts Alex. 

**Baby Horse: If you see Tobin, tell her I am going to kill her.**

*****

Alex and Allie were sitting in a booth at the cafe waiting for Tobin to show up. Tobin walked in looking like complete shit and sat down in the booth. 

“You look like shit” Allie says. Tobin just gives her a death glare. 

“Well I feel like it too.” Tobin says 

“Well maybe don’t drink so much next time” Alex says shrugging. 

“Whatever, I didn’t come here to get a lecture.” Tobin grunts out 

“Well then why did you tell us to meet you here” Allie asks 

“Christen is going to break up with me” Tobin whispers out 

“What?! Harry she would never” Allie shouts 

“Well she is going to. That picture she thinks I cheated on her” Tobin says feeling moisture start to form in her eyes 

“She told you that?” Alex asks

“No” Tobin says

“Well what did she say when you explained it to her that led you to believe that?” Alex asks

“I didn’t explain it to her. She texted this morning just good morning. No emoji. Improper grammar. I didn’t answer her. I just know it's over.” Tobin says letting the tears just drop from her eyes 

Alex reaches over the table and smacks Tobin. “You dumbass” at that moment Alex phone dings from a text. 

**Kels: If you see Tobin, tell her I am going to kill her.**

“Tobin, you can’t just not text her back even if she is mad. We all know you didn’t cheat but you not answering her is going to make her think you did” Allie softly says 

“Well you better fix it and fast because Kelley is ready to kill you” Alex says. Tobin is her best friend and she will always have her back but sometimes she is a dumbass. 

“Well I need help” Tobin says wiping the tears from her eyes 

*

It was a couple hours later. Kelley and Christen were still cuddled in bed. At some point they had both fallen asleep. 

There was a knock at the door. “Can you get that?” Christen mumbles into her pillow. 

“Yeah I got it” Kelley says, getting out of bed to go open the door. When she opens the door there is a man standing there holding a bouquet of flowers. 

“I have a delivery for a Christen Press” he says. Handing it to Kelley. 

“Thank you” Kelley says, taking the flowers and heading into Christen’s room. 

When Christen looks up she sees the bouquet of pink carnations. Kelley places the flowers on the bedside table and walks out of the room giving Christen some alone time. 

Christen looks at the flowers and she sees there is a note. She takes it out of the bouquet to read it. 

**_Chris,_ **

**_I don’t even know if I still have the right to call you that. Listen I know I screwed up and I don’t know how to fix it. Please call me when you get these. I just want to hear your voice and explain everything to you._ **

**_Tobin_ ** __

The tears start to fall from her eyes again. She just doesn’t know what to do. She wants to call Tobin and know everything. But she doesn’t want to call and have it confirmed. 

She thought about it for a couple minutes before grabbing her phone and calling Tobin. 

As soon as the phone stopped ringing Tobin’s voice was coming through the phone. 

_ “Chris. I am so sorry. I need to explain. Please let me explain.” Tobin begs out  _

“Okay go ahead” Christen says 

_ “It’s not what it looks like. I swear I didn’t cheat on you. I would never. You mean so much to me. I would never do that.” Tobin said  _

“Tobs I never thought you cheated on me” Christen says 

_ “You didn’t” Tobin questions  _

“No I didn’t. I trust you” Christen says 

_ “But the text” Tobin says  _

“Yeah Tobin. I was mad, so I wasn’t feeling my usual happy self. Seeing that picture really hurt me” Christen says 

_ “I am so sorry. Please believe me. I screwed up last night. I drank too much. It will never happen again. She was just some fan. I don’t even know her name. She tripped which I know I am oblivious but I know it was a lie. But I was so drunk I couldn’t get her off of me.” Tobin rushes out. She wants to make sure Christen hears it _

“I do believe you. I always have, you never have given me a reason not to. But you not answering me this morning only made me panic. I didn’t think you cheated on me until you didn’t answer me.” Christen said. She thought the tears might slip through again but she was trying to keep them inside 

_ “I should have answered. I just saw it and I knew right away something was wrong. I went to ask Allie and Alex for help because I didn’t know what to do. And that is when I saw the articles and then I really didn’t know what to do. I panicked. I should have answered.” Tobin said. This was not getting any better and she wasn’t sure what to do.  _

“You are right, you should have. I get it Tobs. I get that communication isn’t your strong suit. But when you left we said we would communicate and that was the only way this relationship would work. And guess what at the first bump in the road you go back on it. I get you need help from your best friends. But I want to be that person you go to Tobs. If you could tell right away that I was upset you should have atleast answered me. Said good morning back, or asked me what was wrong. Not completely ignoring me all day. You are an adult. I need you to act like one please.” Christen sternly says 

_ “I know that Chris. I really do. It was never my intention, I swear. It's just when I saw that picture I thought it was all over. In the past I never got to say my piece. I never got to explain. I just panicked at the thought of losing you and Max and I froze up. I shouldn’t have. Please tell me what I can do to fix it.” Tobin begs _

“I don’t know Tobs. I am not breaking up with you. I think I just need some time.” Chris says 

_ “Okay. I will do whatever it takes to not lose you” Tobin says  _

“Bye Tobs” Christen says, hanging up the phone. 

_ On the other end Tobin just breaks down into uncontrollable sobs.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter but I think it is needed for the progression of the story. Please feel free to leave a comment with you thoughts, ideas or constructive criticisms.


	15. I will fix this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The path back to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty proud of myself for how quick I wrote this chapter. Hope you guys like it, I based the whole fight on one I actually had with an ex and than just modified for this world.

[Sunday] 

**Tobs ❤️: I know you need sometime. So I am not expecting an answer. I just want you to know I am thinking of you.**

[Monday] 

**Tobs ❤️: I hope you have a good day at training. I know you are going to kill it.**

[Tuesday] 

**Tobs ❤️: Good morning. I hope that me and Max can still have our FaceTime. I don’t want to disappoint him like I have disappointed you.**

**Christen: I will have him call you at his normal time.**

[Wednesday] 

**Tobs ❤️: Thanks for yesterday. I needed it. Wish we could have talked. But I respect your decision.**

[Thursday] 

**Tobs ❤️: Alex told me I should stop texting you. That I am just bothering you. But I don’t know if I can. Im sorry. I hope you have a good day.**

[Friday] 

**Tobs ❤️: I went to therapy yesterday. I think it was good for me. She told me I need to stop texting you. So I will. I will wait until you are ready to talk to me.**

*

The weekend goes by with nothing from Tobin. Christen still doesn’t know what to do. Each day gets harder and harder to be without her. 

She never told anyone but she really liked the texts each day from Tobin and now that it has been three days without communication it is getting worse. 

After practice she grabs her mail and walks in to look through it. It is mostly junk mail. Except for one piece of mail. 

It's from Tobin. She moves to sit on the stool at her island and opens the letter. 

**Dear Chris,**

**For a while my therapist has always told me to write things down. It will help me with expressing my feelings. So I was originally just going to write it in my journal but I thought sending you a letter would be better.**

**I want you to know again how sorry I am for everything that happened. You are right, I am an adult and I need to act like one. You already have Max to take care of and I shouldn’t be another thing you have to take care of.**

**I want to be able to take care of you, and Max. I can’t do that if I am being childish. That night at the bar will be a nightmare I will hold on to forever.**

**I never told you and this might make you more pissed off at me. But one day when I went to the park with Max some Mom was hitting on me. But my first thought when she started hitting on me, was you. My thoughts are always of you.**

**She wasn’t taking the hint that I wasn’t into her, so I snapped at her and left. I wish I did the same thing that night at the bar. I can blame the alcohol as much as I want. But I shouldn’t use that as an excuse. I need to take responsibility for my actions.**

**All night she was flirting with me. I knew she was and I never showed interest. I just kept hanging and having a good time with the Thorns. I actually had such a good night.**

**It was probably the most fun night out I have ever had with them, because for once I was there to enjoy their company. I wasn’t there to pick up some random chick to bring home. I had no desire and I didn’t need to. Why? Because I have. Well I guess I had at the moment, the most amazing girl in Utah who when I woke up in the morning I could call and would make my life 10x better.**

**I was sitting down with Alex and Allie and they were telling me a story about Bati and Servando when they were on vacation and it was so funny. I was mid laugh when that girl landed on me.**

**That is the picture they must have got. The couple of seconds it took me to realize what was going on. As soon as I realized I tried to push her off. But in my inebriated state it took me longer than I would like to admit.**

**Like I said I know it's not an excuse. As a Mom you have to also think about how your actions affect your child. I know I am not Max’s mom, but at some point if you want I would like to be. So I need to set an example for him, which means not getting so drunk that I can’t make proper decisions.**

**That morning instead of being an adult I turned into a child and tried to run away from my problems instead of attacking them straight on.**

**I can use the excuse of my past relationship but I want to put that behind me.**

**I promise if there is a next time. Which I hope there are no more problems in our relationship, but I know if you let me back in there will be. Relationships are not always smooth sailing.**

**But I will always talk to you and tell you the truth up front. I will never intentionally ignore you again. If I sense you are upset with me I will ask. I will try my best to understand. As long as we do the same.**

**I don’t want to switch blame because I know this is all on me. But you know I am sometimes oblivious. I don’t read social cues like everyone else and I hate my phone.**

**If it wasn’t for Alex and Allie I would never have seen that article. I would never have known what you were mad about. I need you in the future if you are mad at me please tell me. I know you don’t like confrontation, but sometimes being passive aggressive leads to a bigger one in the end.**

**I am sorry about everything that has happened. I want you to know how happy you make me. I think I am going to look like the joker because I have been smiling so much this past year since you came back into my life.**

**You are the most amazing woman and Mom I have ever met. I could sit here all day and write about the amazing person you are, and if you want me to tell you, I will tell you every reason.**

**Christen I am falling in love with you. Everytime we talk and everytime we see each other I fall more and more. I can’t picture my life without you in my life and I don’t want to.**

**When I was getting onto the plane back to Portland, a man had called you and Max my family. As much as on paper we aren’t one, yet hopefully, in my heart you two are my family.**

**The family I always wanted but never thought I would get. But I finally had it in my hand but I might have let it slip through my hands.**

**I completely understand if after you have thought about it you decide that you don’t want me as your girlfriend anymore. But I hope I can still be in your life as a friend.**

**I want you to know if you give me the chance I will do whatever it takes to show you how you should be treated day in and day out.**

**I promise this is my last form of communication with you until you are ready. I still want to have Tuesdays with Max as long as you will let me, I don’t have to ever talk to you Max can just be on the phone.**

**Yours for as long as you will let me,**

**Tobin Powell Heath**

Christen couldn’t hold it in anymore; she let the tears just flow out. Max came out from his room to see his mom in tears. 

“Mommy what wrong” Max asks 

“Mommy is just a little sad” Christen says trying to wipe the tears off her face. 

“Why? Was Tobi mean to you again” Max asks. He was a very intuitive kid and he could tell something was off with his mom the last week. 

Christen always knew how intune to her emotions her son was but everytime it happened she was still surprised. “It’s okay honey. It’s nothing to worry about. Why don’t I get started with dinner” Christen says ruffling her sons hair 

*

Max was sitting outside waiting for Tobin to answer the phone with his soccer ball in front of him. 

_ “Hey buddy you ready to practice” Tobin says  _

“Yeah I am ready.” Max says 

_ “Okay put the phone on the tripod” Tobin says  _

They practice for about an hour. When Max is tired and wants to stop for the day. He grabs the phone from the tripod. “Tobi” 

_ “Yeah buddy?” Tobin questions  _

“Are you and mommy not girlfriends anymore?” Max asks

_ The question is a shock to Tobin. “Why would you think that buddy?”  _

“Because mommy is sad. She was crying yesterday. She tried to hide it but I saw.” 

_ “You wanna know what will make her really happy.” Tobin says. She is trying to change the subject she doesn’t want to let Max in on to much _

“What” Max asks

_ “If you are a really good boy. Listen to everything she has to say. Maybe draw her a picture.” Tobin says  _

“That's a good idea. I am going to go draw it right now. Bye Tobi” Max says hanging up the phone and running inside. He hands the phone back to his mom and runs to his room. 

*

Later than night Max was coloring on the floor of the living room while Christen was watching a documentary. 

“Mommy here I made you a picture.” Max said getting up off the floor to give Christen the picture he made her. 

Christen didn’t need Max to explain what it was a picture of. It was a picture of her, Tobin and Max and what she assumed was a dog. 

“It's our family mommy. Me, you, Tobi and the dog we are going to get” Max happily says 

Christen can feel her eyes start to water. But she stopped the tears from falling as she didn’t want Max to see it. “I love it honey. It's perfect.” 

“Tobi said making a picture would make you happy. I think she was right” Max said cuddling up into his mother's side. 

“It did make me happy. I always love when you make me pictures.” Christen says, giving Max a kiss on the forehead. 

*

Christen had a tougher time sleeping that night. She knew as soon as she saw that picture Max drew her that she needed Tobin back in her life. 

She spent all night racking her brain on what to do. She was leaving for the national team camp in two days so it limited what she could do. She also maybe wanted Tobin to sweat a little bit like she had. So she figured that she would wait until then. 

*

The next two days went by quickly and before Christen knew it she was in Arizona for camp. She had figured out what she was going to do with Tobin and she was awaiting it anxiously. 

*

When Tobin arrived at the hotel she was rooming with Kelley. Of course she was. She was a little nervous at that because she knew Kelley was pissed at her for what happened with Christen. 

She opened her hotel room door and walked in. Kelley was laying on one of the beds. Kelley looked up and gave her a look that had her shaking in her boots. 

She walked over to her bed and saw there was an envelope on it with her name on it. “It’s from Christen”. Kelley said and she got up and walked out of the room. 

Tobin didn’t waste any time in sitting on the bed and ripping open the envelope to read the letter. 

**Dear Tobs,**

**I read your letter. I read it a couple times actually. I am really grateful for it. I actually wrote this a couple days ago but I rewrote it today when I got to the hotel because I wanted it to be perfect. I was worried if I tried to send it to you the day I wrote it, that it wouldn’t make it to you in time before you left for camp. So here we are.**

**I accept your apology. I know how sorry you are for it all. Honey when I said you needed to act like an adult it wasn’t because I don’t want to take care of you, because I want to. I think that is part of being girlfriends.**

**I want you to be able to take care of us and vice versa. It’s a nightmare for me too. I want to say I will hold on to it forever but I don’t want to. I want this to be such a little bump in the road that we forget it ever happened. Or it's something we laugh about in our old age.**

**I wish you would have told me about that woman hitting on you at the playground and you telling her to back off because you were taken. But probably not for the reason you think. I probably would have thought it was so hot at the moment and maybe we would have had some fun.**

**I am beyond glad that you are owning what happened that night at the bar. I am so glad that you had such a good night with your team. I want you to be able to have many good nights like that again.**

**I am not naive to think you will never get hit on. I know how attractive you are and I know how crazy fans can be. You make my life better too and I am glad we can be that for each other.**

**You don’t know how relieving it was to hear that you didn’t try to pick someone up because you have me. I don’t want you thinking of another woman or trying to pick someone else up.**

**As for the drinking, I don’t want you to stop for me. You are allowed to drink. Just maybe limit how much you drink.**

**I know for a while you only had to worry about how things affected you. I know it will take some time to get used to, but you have to think about how your actions affect me and Max as well.**

**I would like that too, for you to be his Mom someday. I want you to be that person for me and Max. His other mommy he can brag about to his friends. But with or without that title right now, you are someone Max looks up too. You are his role model, he wants to be just like you.**

**You are allowed to let loose. Just remember you are in a fish bowl and gossip magazines like to grasp at straws.**

**That morning you did run. You played hide and seek like a little kid. Maybe that is something you can work on with your therapist? Maybe she can help so it doesn’t happen again.**

**Our past relationships will always be a part of us, but I hope we don’t let them define us. There is going to be a next time but I hope we use this as an example to be better the next time. I hope we use this as a learning experience.**

**Like I said communication is going to be key to keep this a successful relationship. I will continue to work on it as long as you do. Maybe we can try couples therapy to learn some skills to help us with this distance thing? I just want to do everything possible to make sure we last forever.**

**You are right. I was passive aggressive in my text. I didn’t want to start a fight but I wanted you to know exactly what was wrong and make it right. You aren’t a mind reader and I shouldn’t expect you to be.**

**From now on I promise to try my best to let you know what is on my mind and if something is bothering me.**

**I am sorry too. I just want us to move forward. You make me so happy too. My sisters joke all the time that my smile must be tattooed on because it never leaves my face.**

**You are amazing too. I would like to hear all the reasons why but maybe you can spread them out over time because I do want to hear them all.**

**Tobin I am falling in love with you too. I think I started to fall the minute you showed up in Sweden and every moment since then I just fell deeper into the hole. I can’t picture my life without you either.**

**Speaking of pictures Max drew me a picture. He said you told him to draw it for me and it would make me happy. You were right, it did make me happy.**

**He drew his family. Me, you, him and the dog he wants us to get. So I hope you love dogs because we definitely are getting one or Max would never let us live it down.**

**I thought long and hard about us, about this whole situation. But one thing never crossed my mind. That was us breaking up. I wanted you as my girlfriend then and I still want you as my girlfriend now.**

**Before I wrap things up I want to say this one thing. I know I said something about you not acting like an adult. I know you have fears about being a good girlfriend.**

**But you still keeping your promise to Max even with everything going on with us shows me just how much of an adult you are. How responsible you are. And how much of a good person and girlfriend you are.**

**It shows me how much you are ready to be in this relationship and how lucky I am because I get to call you mine.**

**After you finish reading this I will be waiting for you in my room.**

**Yours forever because that is how long I want you for,**

**Christen AnneMarie Press**

Tobin didn’t even take a second to breathe before she threw the letter on the bed and ran out the door. She ran as fast as she could towards Christen’s room. 

When she found Christen’s room she stood in front of the door. She hesitated for a second before she knocked. 

It was only a split second before Christen was opening the door. It might have been the fight, the fact they haven’t seen eachother in a couple months but Tobin thought she looked more beautiful than ever. 

“Do you mean it?” Tobin pauses for a second. Christen waits to answer seeing that Tobin wants to say more. “That you want to be mine forever?” 

“Yeah I do mean it. I meant everything I said in the letter” Christen says 

Tobin’s eyes start to water. They are still standing in the doorway of the hotel room. “Thank You. Thank you for forgiving me. I promise you won’t regret it.” 

“I know I won’t. The only thing I regret right now is not talking to you for the last two weeks.” Christen says pulling Tobin into the hotel room and closing the door. 

“I missed you so much” Tobin says pulling Christen into a hug.

“I missed you too” Christen said

“Where’s Max?” Tobin says as she pulls away from the hug to look around the room and see that it is empty. 

“With Amy. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t here for this.” Christen says 

“Okay.” Tobin says looking into Christen’s eyes. “Can I.. Um kiss you” 

Christen doesn’t respond instead she just leans in for a kiss. It looked and felt like all those romantic movies you would see on TV. To them it was perfect. 

“Should we talk?” Tobin asks 

Christen smiles at the suggestion. “I think we said what we needed to in the letters. I just want to get in bed right now and have you hold me” 

“Okay” Tobin says and leads Christen over the bed. They get under the covers. Christen’s back leaning into Tobin’s front. They fit together like a puzzle piece. 

*

They must have fallen asleep. Tobin is woken up from a knock on the door. She goes over to open it and sees that it’s Kelley. 

“I see you guys made up. It's time for dinner.” Kelley says before turning around to leave 

Tobin walks back in the room and over to the bed. “Babe we have to wake up” Tobin says brushing strands of Christen’s hair behind her ear. 

“No” Christen grunts out

“Yes” Tobin giggles out 

“Fine” Christen says, rolling over to get out of bed. 

Dinner goes great. The moment Max sees Tobin he runs and leaps into her arms. They laugh and smile and have a good time. 

Dinner is almost over, Max is sitting on Tobin’s lap. Christen is talking to Pinoe. “Did you and mommy make up?” Max whispers in Tobin’s ear 

“What makes you say that” Tobin whispers back

“She happy again. Her smile big. I gonna call it the Tobi smile” Max says 

Tobin smiles at that. “Yeah buddy, me and your mommy are all good” 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved all the comments on the last chapter I think it helped motivate me to write so quick. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, any ideas you have, or any constructive criticisms.


	16. Spring Time and Season openers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The NWSL season starts. The woman have some good talks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I am on a roll. 3 updates in one week. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Its lot of fluff, also some smut but again you can skip over it without missing anything.

After camp the girls both had to head back to their club teams. It was now crunch time and opening weekend was quickly upon them. 

Tobin was leaving tomorrow morning to head to Houston for the first match of the season. While Christen was comfy at home because they were at home this weekend against Sky Blue. 

_ “Babe why do you always wait until the last minute to pack your stuff?” Christen says through the phone. She had just put Max to bed and was laying in hers.  _

“I don’t know. I hate packing. I mean I am just gonna throw some random stuff in the suitcase and call it a night.” Tobin says shrugging 

_ “I don’t know how you do that. It would stress me out” Christen says laughing.  _

After a few more minutes Tobin is finished and hops into her bed. “So tell me how was your day baby?” 

_ “It was good. Max had tee ball practice again today. Kid is a natural at sports. I think he is going to run me ragged. He wants to play everything on the map. But I am glad I convinced him one at a time.” Christen says laughing  _

“See he takes after me” Tobin says winking at Christen “I was like that when I was a kid. I definitely drove my mom crazy; she never said no to me. When I was nine I remember I was playing 3 sports at a time. Right after school I would have tennis, then I would go to my indoor soccer and then after basketball.” 

_ “I knew you played tennis but I never knew you dabbled in basketball?” Christen said. She loved finding out new things about Tobin.  _

“Yeah it was only for like two years. I hate to admit it but I had this crush on this boy named John and the basketball team was Co-Ed at the time so I joined to try and spend more time with him. Obviously it didn’t work out for my nine year old self. But it turns out I liked playing basketball. But after two years it started to get too much with everything so I had to give something up and I was not that good, so it got cut.” Tobin tells Christen 

_ “Interesting, well John missed out, because you are something special. I hope Max tries everything and finds his niche. I sort of regret being the shy kid who really didn’t do too much outside of school. But I hope it doesn’t make me take him to three things in one night. Your mom is a saint.” Christen says  _

“Honestly she really is. I think you would really like her, and she is going to love you. I can’t wait for you guys to meet.” Tobin says. 

_ “I can’t wait to meet your family. I know I am going to love them too.” Christen says as she lets out a yawn  _

“We should go to bed. I’ll call you tomorrow beautiful. Sweet dreams” Tobin says blowing Christen a kiss. 

_ “Goodnight” Christen says, blowing one back.  _

_ * _

The Thorns won their game 1-0. It was a throw in from Jess McDonald that Allie Long got her head on and it just slipped past the goalie into the goal. 

The team was ecstatic, it is always good to win the first game of the season and set a precedent for the rest of the season. 

The royals ended up tying the game with sky blue 1-1. It was a hard fought game. Christen would have loved to get the 3 points and a win. But she would take the tie, it was better than losing. 

The girls couldn’t watch eachothers games as they were playing at the same time. But they made sure to talk after the game and catch the highlights of both games. 

*

It was Sunday. Today was Max’s first tee-ball game. Christen was getting Max ready putting his uniform on when there was a knock at the door. 

“Go to the bathroom, while I check the door. We have to hurry or we are going to be late.” Christen says 

Christen goes and opens the door. She assumed it was just a salesperson trying to sell something. So to say she was shocked when she saw who it was, would be an understatement. 

“Hi baby” Tobin says, walking forward to plant a kiss on Christen's lips. 

“What are you doing here? You told me you were flying back to Portland today” Christen says, as she was moving over to let Tobin in. 

“I am. I convinced the staff to get me a lengthy layover here in Utah so I could come see my favorite girl and be here for Max’s first tee ball game.” Tobin says winking 

“Since when did I get so lucky?” Christen said, pulling Tobin in for a more passionate kiss. 

Max comes running into the foyer. “Mommy I ready” he says, sliding into the room. “Eww” he says when he sees his mom and Tobin kissing. It took him a second for it to click about Tobin. “Tobi you here” he says running towards her and hugging her leg.

“Yeah buddy I am. I hear we have a tee ball game to get to” Tobin says, picking him up and carrying him out of the house to the car. 

*

Tobin had such a good time at the game. She enjoyed sitting on the bleachers, holding Christen’s hand while cheering Max and his team on. 

Obviously there was no winner in the game but Tobin wants to think if there was it would be Max and his team. 

Christen was right Max is a natural athlete. He did so good and looked so happy the entire time he was on the field. 

“Good Job buddy, you did so good” Tobin said, playing with the hat on Max’s head. 

“Thank you Tobi” Max said. Handing his glove to his mom. “Come meet my friends” Max said, grabbing Tobin’s hand and dragging her to his group of friends. 

“Guys this is my Tobi. She plays soccer for Portland Thorns and the U.S.. She is my mommy girlfriend. They kiss” Max says to his friends still holding on to her hand. 

“Hi dudes. Nice to meet you. You guys played good today” Tobin said 

“Thank you” they all said in unison before Max introduced Tobin to each one of them one by one. 

***SMUT***

Christen and Tobin were in bed that night right after they put Max to bed. Tobin had to leave in about an hour for the airport. 

They were passionately making out. Tobin was half on top of Christen half on the bed. Christen's hands were holding Tobin’s face close, while Tobin’s hands were roaming around Christen’s backside. Of course Tobin’s hand spent most of their time on Chisten’s butt. 

As things started to get more heated Tobin slowly started to remove Christen’s top. Once she got the top out of the way she was happy to see Christen wasn’t wearing a bra. She quickly got to work kissing her way down her front side starting at Christen’s collarbone.

When she made it to Christen’s breast she started to suck on Christen’s already hard nipples. Her hands were still rubbing on Christen’s butt while she switched to the other nipple. 

She could tell Christen was liking it by the sounds coming from her mouth. Christen leaned back up to move her lips back to Christen’s. Sticking her tongue into Christen’s mouth. 

Christen started to roam her hands under Tobin’s hoodie squeezing Tobin’s breast when she reached them. After a couple seconds Tobin leaned up to remove her hoodie from her body. 

With Tobin’s hoodie off and her chest empty Christen leant up and took Tobin’s left breast into her mouth. When she felt she gave enough attention to that one she moved to the right. 

They wasted no time in getting each other’s pants off now only left in their underwear. Tobin lays Christen back down on the bed. She then gets on top of her so their fronts are now pressed against each other. 

Tobin goes back to suck on Tobin’s breasts, hearing the moans come from Christen just giving her the motivation to continue. Tobin starts to rub her center along Christen’s thighs. Christen can feel Tobin’s wetness through her underwear. 

Christen flips Tobin over and their positions are now reversed. She gives Tobin one more passionate kiss before she moves down Tobin’s front until she is in front of where Tobin wants her. 

She slips some of her fingers under Tobin’s underwear, her fingers become soaked in Tobin’s juices. She places open mouthed kisses on Tobin’s center on top of her underwear. Tobin starts to lift herself off the bed trying to get more friction from Christen. 

“Please Chris. Take them off and touch me” Tobin breathily says. Christen obeys and slowly slides the older womens underwear down her legs. 

Christen moves her mouth to kiss Tobin’s thigh before kissing her way to Tobin’s clit. She gives her clit a couple kisses before she sticks her tongue out to swipe through the woman center. 

Christen tongue licks Tobin’s clit. She changes the pace to keep Tobin on her toes. She starts slow then goes fast then slow again. If the sounds coming from Tobin’s mouth are any indication it is working. 

While Christen’s tongue is doing its magic Tobin is pinching her hardened nipples with one hand while her other hand is tangling through Christen’s hair. 

Christen removes her tongue to take her pointer finger and rub it in a circular motion over the other girl's clit before returning to her previous actions with her tongue. Christen uses both of her hands to spread the girls lips opening to slip her tongue inside the woman. 

Christen sticks her tongue in and out to the woman a couple times before she takes her two fingers and slowly puts them inside the girl. She paused for a moment to let Tobin adjust before she started moving them. 

She slowly pushes them in and out. She starts to pick up speed as she licks Tobin’s clit. 

“Yes Chris just like that” Tobin moans out

Christen felt the walls start to tighten around her finger as well as Tobin’s body start to shake. 

“I’m… About.. To.. cum..” Tobin struggles to get out as she gets closer to bliss. 

Tobin’s body lifts from the bed as she reaches her climax. Christen continues to slowly move her fingers as Tobin comes down. She then kisses her way back up Tobins front until she reaches Tobins lips where she gives the woman a passionate kiss. 

Tobin can taste herself of Christen and it just turns her on some more. Tobin feels the dominant side start to show and she quickly flips Christen over so she is on top. She kisses Christen like that for a bit. 

“Can you get on all fours?” Tobin asks. Christen doesnt question it and does as she is told. Tobin moves so she is basically behind Christen backside. She uses her palm to rub Christen’s center over her underwear leaving kiss on her ass. 

Tobin slides Christen underwear to the side so her pussy is out of full view. She starts to rub her fingertips through Christen’s slits. Tobin sticks in two fingers and slowly moves them back and forth. 

Making sure to curve them at the perfect angle to hit Christen’s g-spot. Tobin uses her other finger to rub Christen's clit while she places kisses on Christen’s back. 

Christen moans. They have only had sex a few times but everytime Christen is amazed by Tobin’s skills. 

Tobin moves so she is straight behind Christen and starts to stick her tongue in and out of Christen’s center. Christen can no longer hold herself up on all fours so she drops to the bed with her ass stick up as Tobin continues.

She thinks if she has a little more friction she could cum again. So she moves her position so her center is rubbing against the back of Christen’s thigh while she has two fingers sliding in and out of Christen and the other is rubbing her clit. 

“Keep going baby. I am almost there” Christen says

Christen's release comes a few minutes later. Tobin continues her actions until she reaches her second orgasm of the night. She kisses Christen once more before they cuddle for the remaining time they have left. 

***END OF SMUT***

They didn’t get to cuddle for as long as they would have liked because Tobin had to leave. Tobin’s phone rings indicated her Uber is here to pick her up. 

“Stay in bed baby” Tobin says, kissing Christen's forehead. Tobin gets out of bed and gets ready to go before she walks over to Christen’s side of the bed. 

“I will see you in two weeks when the royals come to Portland.” Tobin says 

“I can’t wait. Text me when you get home. So I know when I wake up you made it home safe.” Christen says 

“I will.” Tobin says giving Christen one last passionate kiss before walking out the door. 

*

It was the night before Christen was leaving to head to Portland for that weekend's game. The women were in bed having their nightly FaceTime call. 

Tobin could tell throughout the conversation that something was on Christen’s mind. She was trying to wait it out and wait for Christen to say what it was. But after a while she couldn’t wait anymore. 

“Baby, what is on your mind?” Tobin questions 

_ Christen pauses. She hates the fact that she is nervous. “Um. Well Max asked.. and I was wondering”  _

“Babe talk to me. What is it?” Tobin says 

_ “Um. Max asked if he could stay with you instead of at the hotel and stay in his room. I obviously have to stay at the hotel until after the game so it would just be Max” Christen says staring at Tobin, trying to read her reaction.  _

“Of course he can stay with me. You and Max for that matter never have to be nervous to tell me anything or ask me anything. You guys are welcome at my house anytime you want.” Tobin says 

_ “I know. It just don’t want you to feel like you are forced to have Max over especially the night before a game” Christen says playing with the finger on her nails  _

“Hey stop. I never feel forced about anything with you guys. I would love for him to stay over and I can’t wait until after the game so you can stay over to.” Tobin says trying her best convey the message to Christen 

_ “Okay. Max will be so happy. I will see you tomorrow. I miss you and I can’t wait to see you.” Christen says blowing Tobin a kiss  _

“I can’t wait to see you either. I will come pick Max up from the hotel after my film session” Tobin says blowing a kiss back at Tobin before ending the call. 

*

It’s Friday evening, Tobin just picked up Max and they are walking in the door of her apartment. “What do you want for dinner, bud? We can order anything you want.” 

“Chicky Nuggies?” Max asks 

“You know what that sounds perfect” Tobin says. 

The food arrives pretty quickly and they are sitting at the table eating. 

“How is tee ball going” Tobin asks 

“Good. I hit the ball far and I throw far” Max says 

“That is good. Are you having fun” Tobin questions. She wants to make sure he is enjoying it. She had heard plenty of stories about kids not enjoying hobbies but feeling forced to do them. 

“Yes so much fun” Max said taking a bite of his chicken nuggets. 

*

The next day when Max woke up he knocked on Tobin’s door. “Tobi” Max says as he slowly opens her bedroom door. 

“Hey buddy come here” Tobin says, lifting it up for the boy to get into. Max runs and jumps up onto the bed. “Want to learn about what I do on game days?” 

“Yes. Yes. Yes” Max shouts jumping up and down in the bed. 

“Easy buddy. We have to hard chill” Tobin says as she lets out a laugh 

“Hard Chill?” Max questions 

“Yeah. What that means is we do nothing all day but relax” Tobin says “But first we have breakfast” 

After breakfast they spend the rest of the day hard chilling. They watch an old soccer game and some cartoons. 

It is time for them to get ready to leave. “I am going to get dressed, why don’t you pick out your clothes and I will be in to help you get dressed when I finish” Tobin says 

Tobin is almost done getting ready when she hears a bang. She rushes out of her room when she hears it again. 

When she enters the other room she sees Max hitting the wall repeatedly. “Hey hey hey buddy what's wrong” Tobin says as she walks over to Max to stop him from hitting the wall anymore. 

“I don’t know what to wear” Max says as he lets the floodgates open 

“Well I will help you. No need to get mad.” Tobin says as she goes over to his duffle bag of messed up clothes. 

“What about Mommy’s jersey, with the black jeans” Tobin says looking at him 

“No” Max cries out 

“Why not buddy?” Tobin asks 

“Because you” Max says 

“So you want to wear my jersey?” Tobin asks. She is a little confused about what is wrong with the boy 

“No” Max says stomping his feet 

“Buddy I don’t understand.” Tobin asks 

“Because I want to root for both of you. I don’t want you or mommy to be sad” Max cries out

It finally clicked for Tobin then “Oh, I got it buddy. You can root for both of us no matter what you wear and neither of us will be upset if you wear the other jersey. But how about you wear my shorts and mommy’s jersey. Than next time you switch” 

“Okay” Max said, wiping his eyes of the remaining tears. 

*

It was a hard fought game. The thorns ended up winning the game 3-1. Christen scored the Royals goal getting by two defenders and shooting it in the upper ninety passed the goalkeepers hands. 

Tobin had one of the thorns goals as well as an assist off a corner kick. Christen when they finished shaking hands Christen went to get her son. 

When she finds him she picks him up to lift him over the barrier and gives him a kiss. 

“You did good mommy. Sorry you lose. But you score” Max said 

“Thanks buddy. It's okay to lose sometimes.” Christen said walking towards the center of the field where some of the national team players were talking

“Tobi” Max shouts, trying to wiggle his way out of Christen's arms. Christen puts him down and he runs straight to her. 

“Hey buddy” Tobin says as she lifts him into the air. 

“Tobi you did good. You score. You won” Max says 

“Thanks buddy. I tried my best.” Tobin said 

“Do you think mommy sad she lost?” Max question 

“I bet she is a little sad. But I think she is happy that she did her best and that you were here to watch it” Tobin says kissing him on the cheek 

“Will she be mad at you?” Max asks 

“Why would she be mad at me? Why would you think that?” Tobin asks the little boy

“Because you beat her? Aunt Kelley says that if you like a girl you should let them win” Max says seriously 

“Oh. Sometimes you let the girl win. Like if we are playing video games. But like this your mom would be mad at me if I let her win and didn’t try my best.” Tobin says 

“I confused” Max said 

“Girls are confusing buddy” Tobin said ruffling his hair 

*

Later that night after multiple orgasms the women were cuddled in bed. “Max had a little tantrum this morning”

“Did he really?” Christen asked as she turned around to face Tobin 

“Yeah. I went to get ready and told him to pick out his clothes. Next thing I know he is hitting the wall. He was upset because he didn’t know what jersey to wear” Tobin said smiling at her

“That kid has a heart of gold” Christen says 

“He does. He didn’t want any of us to be upset.” Tobin says 

“How did you get him to calm down and get dressed?” Christen asks 

“Well I convinced him to wear you jersey and my shorts this time, and then the next time he can switch. Also that he could root for one of us no matter what jersey he wore and we would never be mad at him” Tobin says 

“It sounds like you handle your first tantrum alone like a pro.” Christen says giving Tobin a peck 

“Thanks. Um there is like also something I um wanted to talk to you about.” Tobin struggles to get out

“What is it baby?” Christen says rubbing her hand across the girls cheek 

“So the other day you had said Max wanted to stay in his room. And I guess is it okay that he calls it his room? Tobin asks 

“Of course it is” Christen says 

“Um so I guess would it be a problem if we actually made it his room?” Tobin says

“What do you mean baby?” Christen asks 

“Like if I bought him an actual bed instead of him sleeping on the air mattress. I can paint the room whatever color he wants. I'll move my art stuff out of the room. He could have some toys in there” Tobin said 

“Tobs.” Christen says. Her eyes started to water “I want you to know you don’t have to, but if you want to I know I can’t stop you.” 

“You’re right. I don’t think you could. But I really want to. Next time you guys come over it will be perfect.” Tobin says giving Christen a long kiss 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter. If you have any ideas.  
> Or if you have any constructive criticisms


	17. Mine?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthdays, Rooms, Soccer and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I am so so sorry for how long this chapter took. Between writers block, Covid, being back to work full time with a crazy deadline and using my free time to educate and use my time to help anyway I can with social justice the story just got put on the back burner. I promise now that my deadline for work has passed I should have more time to write, so you don’t have to wait so long. Hope you enjoy

Tobin knew she had a couple months to get the bedroom finished and be ready for the surprise before Max came but she wanted to start right away. 

They didn’t play the Royals at home again until July and it was only the beginning of May. But with away games and being in season she wanted to make sure she had enough time to do it. 

First she had to clean up all her art supplies. She got a friend to let her use some space at his art studio so she just needed to box the stuff up and bring it over. 

Once she got the room all cleaned out it was time to go to the store and get the paint. It was tough for her to pick out a color because Max kept changing his favorite color everyday. 

It probably would have been easier if Tobin asked him what color he wanted his room to be painted but she wanted it to be a surprise for him. It was also going to be a surprise for Christen. 

She knew that the room was getting done, but Tobin refused to send her progress pictures. So here she was standing in front of the sample cards in the paint shop trying to make the right decision. 

After much deliberation she finally decided she would go with a bluish color. But now the hard part begins trying to figure out which blue to get. 

She asked the employee for a couple samples and headed back to her apartment to test them out on the wall to see which one she liked best. 

It took her a couple days until she finally decided on a color. She then went out to the hardware store to pick up all the paint and supplies she would need. Now she was on her way home with paint cans filled with the color she was going with. 

*

It was the end of May. Tobin had just finished a mid-week away game. She was at the airport about to head to Utah. She had a week off, as this weekend was a bye for the Thorns.

Her birthday was tomorrow and Max’s was in a little under two weeks away. She was bummed that she couldn’t be with them on his actual Birthday, but she was glad they could celebrate a little early together. 

Tomorrow night her and Christen were going to go out on a date just the two of them to celebrate her birthday. Christen said it was a surprise and she had it all planned out and Tobin would just have to wait to find out. 

Christen’s parents were in Utah to visit for Max's birthday so they were going to watch him. Saturday they were going to have Max’s little birthday party. 

Tobin’s flight had finally landed and she was getting excited. She tried to tell Christen that she could just get an Uber but Christen insisted that her and Max pick her up at the airport.

She got off the plane and got her bags from baggage claim. She started to walk towards the exit to search for her Press’. 

After searching for a little while she finally spotted them. Her beautiful curly haired girlfriend and her tiny smiley boy. 

She started to speed up her steps walking towards them, just as they did the same. Max couldn’t wait any longer so he just started running full speed at Tobin. 

Tobin saw him coming and dropped her carry on so she could pick him up as soon as he reached her. And that is exactly what she did. She lifted him up and gave him a big hug with some kisses spread out around his little face.

“Tobi you here” Max said 

“Yeah I am here. I missed you so much.” Tobin said 

At that point Christen finally made it to them and Tobin used her other hand that wasn’t holding Max to pull Christen into a hug as well. 

They didn’t waste any time to connect their lips in a deep passionate kiss. It obviously lasted too long for Max’s liking because he started laughing trying to get them to pull apart. 

The two women pulled apart giggling at the young boy. 

“Let's get out of here” Christen said, before grabbing Tobin’s carry-on bag from the floor and walking out of the airport.

*

Tobin woke up the next morning to an empty bed. When she tried to reach to pull her girlfriend closer all she was met with was cold sheets.

When she looked over at the clock on the bedside table it read nine am. She normally didn’t sleep in that late so that explained the empty bed. 

She put on some clothes and made her way down the hall to the kitchen. When she walked in Max and Christen both yelled “happy birthday” 

There were happy birthday balloons and a breakfast buffet laid out on the table. “Aww thank you guys” Tobin said as she was blushing. 

“Tobi we got bagels. Mommy said you love bagels” Max says running over to hug her leg. 

“I do love bagels buddy” Tobin says ruffling his hair, before making her way over to Christen to give her a peck. “Thanks babe” 

“Anything for you on your birthday” Christen says 

*

  
  


They ate breakfast and then found themselves cuddled on the couch watching a random movie they found that looked good. 

Halfway through the movie Max was getting bored. The movie wasn’t that great and he didn’t want to watch it anymore. 

“Mommy can I give Tobi her present now” Max questioned 

“Okay sweetie why don’t you go get it” Christen said, as Max rushed off the couch to go get it. 

Christen sat up so she was no longer leaning on Tobin so she could sit up to. Max came back into the room holding a wrapped rectangular present. 

When Tobin opened the present, what she found made her heart grow ten times bigger. It was a picture frame decorated by Max with the world family on it in foam letters. 

It had soccer balls, glitter, hearts and other miscellaneous art supplies on it. The picture inside the frame was a picture of her, Christen and Max at the last game they played against each other in Portland. 

“Tobi I made it for you. Do you like it” Max says asking Tobin

“I love it buddy” Tobin says “Come here” she gives Max a hug and a kiss. 

*

Christen and Tobin are currently sitting at the restaurant waiting for their food to come. This was the first stop on Christen’s birthday plans. 

“Tell me about your first date?” Tobin asks 

“Lets see it was in 10th grade. He was a senior named Travis. We went to this small little restaurant. It was sweet when he picked me up, he knocked on my door. He opened the truck door for me to get in. It was like what you saw in the movies.” Christen says as she starts to laugh 

“We got to the restaurant and he forgot his wallet. Luckily the responsible one I am, I ended up having money on me so I ended up paying for dinner. He was so embarrassed the whole dinner” 

Tobin started to laugh “Did he get a second date” 

“He did. He got a couple more but it didn’t end up working out” Christen says. “What about you, what was your first date like” 

“Um. I'll do my first date with a girl because it's really the only real one. Well let’s see, I was too nervous to ask this girl out. She was one of the co-captains on my club team my senior year of high school. There were 5 captains and so I made this plan of asking everyone if we could do dinner like a captain bonding. But I told the other girls to back out so it was just the two of us. We went to five guys and she paid for herself and I was terrible and it was probably a terrible first date in the grand scheme of things. But it worked because we dated all of senior year but broke up at the end when we left for college.” Tobin said 

“I am not surprised by that at all. You try and act all suave but in reality you aren’t.” Christen says earning a pout from Tobin. “Don’t pout, it's one of the things I like so much about you.” 

Dinner continues smoothly. They eat their food and talk about random things ranging from their childhoods to the current NWSL season. 

When dinner is finished they leave the restaurant to head to the next destination. 

*

Part two was a paint and sip for charity. When they walked into the building Tobin was surprised at what she saw in front of her. “What is this?” She asks 

“It's a paint and sip. I know you love your art so I thought we could do that. It's also for charity, it goes to helping kids in foster care be able to play sports.” Christen says, nervous about what Tobin will think if her idea 

“Chris, this is amazing” Tobin says, giving her a peck.

The girls sit down in front of their easels and get started on their paintings. The painting for this one was going to be a sunflower. As they were painting the conversation started to flow. 

“So what made you get into art so much?” Christen asked 

“Um I can’t remember when I got into it, but I felt that it was always easier to express myself through art. As you know it is tough for me to express myself through spoken word, and until a couple years ago writing things down never crossed my mind. So art became my thing, and I really enjoyed It.” Tobin said 

“I know you think you aren’t good, but I think you are beyond good enough for me. You also have been getting better since we reconnected.” Christen says 

“I don’t know if it's getting better or if you can just read me better than anyone else.” Tobin says 

“I think it’s both.” Christen says looking over at Tobin to see her looking at her and smiling. 

The conversation continues flowing throughout the session. Neither of them really drink considering they were in season. But they were both having such a good time. 

*

After the paint and sip was over they were walking back to the car with their paintings. “So I have one more surprise left, if you want to.” Christen says 

“Of course what is it babe?” Tobin asks 

“I got us a hotel room, so we could spend the night together just us” Christen says 

“I am so down for that babe” Tobin says as they both get into the car and head to the hotel. 

So that is what the women do. They go back to the hotel. They spend the rest of the night giving each other orgasm after orgasm. 

Christen falls asleep in Tobin’s arms after a long day. Tobin is trying to fall asleep but she is struggling. Her mind is running rampant. All her thoughts go back to the fact that she has realized she definitely loves Christen. 

She is not just falling, she is deeply and madly in love with Christen. She wants to shout it out right now. But she decides to wait for the perfect time to tell the woman. 

*

Tobin is back in Portland after her Birthday weekend. She is almost finished completely painting Max’s room, so she needs to go furniture shopping. 

She knows she is terrible with that, which is why after practice today she is going to ask if anyone from the team wants to help her go furniture shopping. 

When they are all in the locker room getting cleaned up from practice. “Hey so I was um wondering if any of you are free this weekend, do you want to help me furniture shop?” Tobin asks 

“Why do you need new furniture? Didn’t you just get some?” Allie asks 

“Um its for Max.” Tobin says blushing 

“Count me in” Alex says 

“Me too!” Allie says 

“I will help, and make sure these knuckle heads don’t make you spend an arm and a leg” Sinc says 

“Thank You guys so much” Tobin says, going back to getting changed 

*

Saturday rolls around and the four of them are roaming around the furniture store. Allie and Alex are going crazy running around the store, while Sinc and Tobin are walking behind them. 

“So things are getting serious with Christen then?” Sinclair asks 

“I mean I don’t know. I just feel like they will visit more if Max has his own space instead of my art studio and a blow up mattress.” Tobin says rubbing the back of her neck 

“You love her don’t you?” She says smiling at he younger woman 

Tobin’s smile widens “Yeah I really do. I have never felt like this before” 

“I am proud of you kid. I am so happy to see you so happy” Sinclair says

“I found it” Alex shouts 

Tobin and Sinclair walk towards where they heard Alex’s voice come from. As they walk up they see it is a kids low study loft. 

“It’s perfect” Allie says 

“What is the price” Sinclair asks 

“Only $500” Alex says 

“It's perfect” Tobin says 

They look around the store some more before paying and leaving the store. The bed, dresser and desk would be delivered to her condo in a couple days. 

*

The days passed slowly counting down until Tobin got to see the Press family again. They all had FaceTimed and talked as much as possible during that time. 

Tobin had completely finished Max’s room. The room was completely painted, all the furniture was in its place and the toys Tobin had bought for him were neatly put around the room. 

Tobin wanted Christen to be there when Max saw his room for the first time so they agreed not to see each other until after their game. 

The game was a hard fought battle that ended in a 1-1 tie with Christen and Tobin scoring the only goals for their teams. They won’t admit it but each one was trying to show off for the other. 

When they walked into Tobin’s apartment they told Max to go put his backpack on his room and they followed slowly behind him. When Max opened the room he just froze and so did Christen. 

The room was a light blue color on all four walls, with a white ceiling. In the corner of the room closest to the door was his bed. On the opposite site of the room was his desk in front of the window. 

Next to his closet was the dresser. But the thing that the two Press’ were so fascinated by was the panting on the wall. It said Max with all different sports equipment surrounding his name. 

“Tobi, is this for me” Max said turning to look at Tobin 

“Yeah buddy, all for you. I want you to really feel like this is your room” Tobin said 

Max turned and gave Tobin a big hug “Thank You Tobi. I love it. You’re the best” Max says before letting go to explore his new room. 

Tobin turned to look over at Christen to see a tear falling from her eyes. “Baby” Tobin says going to wipe the younger woman’s eyes 

“Tobin this is amazing. No one has ever put this effort in toward Max. Tobin, I love you” Christen says as the wave of emotions wash over her 

Tobin smiles. She wanted to say it first, but hearing those words come out of Christen’s mouth is better than she could have ever expected. She leans in the give Christen a kiss that hopefully conveyed all of her emotion. 

“I love you too, so much” Tobin says 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, ideas for the story or any constructive criticism you may have.


	18. Rollercoaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trips to Utah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got this one finished quicker. But I honestly don’t feel like re-reading it right now or proofing it but I didn’t want to make you wait for it. So here it is hope you like it.

It was the beginning of August, Tobin and Max were having their typical Tuesday lessons. Christen was inside cleaning the house while they were practicing. 

Tobin could tell something was wrong with Max throughout the whole lesson. His smile wasn’t as big as it normally was, his laughter was not strong either. Tobin could tell his head wasn’t in it today. 

It had almost been an hour so Tobin figured she would ask him what is wrong. “Hey buddy, why don’t we stop for today. Are you okay buddy? You seem sad” 

_ “I am sad” Max says, going to sit on the steps leading up to the small deck.  _

“Do you want to tell me what is wrong” Tobin cautiously asks 

_ “My friends are going camping” Max quietly say _ s 

“So why does that make you sad? Did they not invite you?” Tobin asks, she remembers what it used to feel like when her friends used to do things without asking her to join. Heck it still sucks as an adult when people do that. 

_ “No they did. They are going with their dads” Max said  _

That's when it clicked for Tobin. “I am sorry buddy. That really stinks” She wasn’t really sure what to say. So she wanted to pause to gather her thoughts. 

_ But Max spoke first. “They said I could just go with them without one but I don’t want to. I didn’t ask mommy because she no like camping” Max said  _

“I'm sorry buddy that has to be tough. You know I love camping, maybe we can go one day together.” Tobin said trying to make the boy happy 

_ “Thanks Tobi, but I want to go with them” Max says _

“When are they going” Tobin asks 

_ “Friday in two weeks” Max states  _

Tobin starts to rack her brain. In two weeks she has a Friday night game. She probably could take a red eye right after they came and make it to Utah on Saturday morning and go with him. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but if I can come would you want me to go with you” 

_ “Yes please” Max says  _

*

Later that night when Christen and Tobin were in bed talking on FaceTime before they both called it a night, Tobin figured she should bring up the camping trip. 

“So do you know about that camping trip” Tobin asked 

_ “Yeah I do, how do you know about it” Christen asks  _

“Max was feeling sad today, so I asked him and that's when he brought it up” Tobin says 

_ “One of the dad’s asked me before they told their son they could ask Max. But Max never brought it up to me so I thought they didn’t end up asking or Max didn’t want to go” Christen said  _

“He said he didn’t want to go alone with someone else’s dad, and he didn’t want to ask you because he know you don’t like camping” Tobin responds 

_ “I wished he would have asked me. I would have sucked it up and gone with him. I knew this day would come where his father not being in the picture would cause pain. I just didn’t think it would happen so young” Christen says, feeling as though her heart was breaking  _

“Hey Chris, don’t feel bad. That kid loves you and he would sacrifice his happiness to make sure you are happy, so he wasn’t going to make you go. I can’t speak for him on his father but I don’t think he even thought twice about not having one at this moment. I think he just wanted someone to go with him on the trip” Tobin said 

_ “I hope you are right. I just wish he didn’t feel like he had to stay home and not enjoy himself. I know he would have so much fun if he goes.” Christen says  _

“Yeah, so I may have told him I would see if I could come and go with him. I would have to talk to Mark and we would have to work out all the logistics. But I told him not to get his hopes up, but that I would try. I hope that is okay.” Tobin says starting to ramble

“ _ It's more than okay” Christen chokes out “I love you”  _

“I love you too baby” Tobin says blowing a kiss through the phone 

*

The next day after practice Tobin made it her mission to talk to Mark. After she finished changing she went and knocked on his office door. 

“Hey Tobin, what can I do for you” Mark says 

“Can I talk to you” Tobin says nervously 

“As long as you aren’t about to tell me you are quitting, retiring or asking for a trade I am all ears” Mark says, a little giggle coming out 

“No, none of that I promise” Tobin says as she goes and sits down in the chair in front of his desk. 

After Tobin didn’t continue Mark spoke up “Well spit it out, what can I do for you” 

“Um I was wondering if, I can miss recovery and film next weekend” Tobin asks 

“Why? Is everything okay?” Mark asks, concerned that something might be wrong. Tobin rarely misses anything. She even tried to practice one time when she had the flu and he had to force her to go home and rest. 

“Yeah everything is okay. Um it’s just my girlfriend’s son, wants to go on this camping trip, and it's kind of like a father son thing and his dad isn’t in the picture, and he wants me to go with him, or well I offered myself to go.” Tobin says, rambling it off before Mark can interrupt her 

“Tobin, I am going to stop you right there. You know I am a father, and being with my girls for special moments is the greatest thing in my life. If I had to choose coaching or just being their dad, I would choose them everytime. I respect what you are trying to do for that boy. You can take this weekend off, but don’t make a habit of it.” Mark says 

“Thank You coach, I don’t really know what I am doing. I am just trying the best I can to let him know I love him.” Tobin says 

“I am sure he knows, kids are smart like that. They pick up on emotions very well, something I think we lose at we get older” Mark says “Go rest I’ll see you tomorrow, I am expecting a win on Friday for giving you the weekend off” 

Tobin laughs and gets up out of the chair to walk out and head home. 

*

Later that night when the three are eating dinner over FaceTime Tobin decides to tell the Press’ the plan for the next weekend. 

“So I talked to Mark and I can miss the film and recovery. So I was thinking Max you can go up with your friends to the campsite. I got the earliest flight out after my game, and I should be at the campground when you wake up Saturday morning. How does that sound?” Tobin says 

_ “That sounds great!” Max shouts  _

“I am so excited it will be so fun” Tobin says 

_ “Thank You Tobi, I love you. Your my best friend” Max says  _

“You’re Welcome buddy. You are my best friend too” Tobin says 

*

Next week and a half flew by, it was finally time for the camping trip. She had just gotten off the plan and found a rental car to head to the campsite. 

She arrived at the campsite and saw that some of the dads were already up by the fire. So she parked the car and walked over towards them. 

“Hi, you must be Tobin” One of the dads, Tim, who was Sean’s dad, said as Tobin approached them. 

“Yes that is me” Tobin says, holding out her hand to shake the man's hand, as well as the other dads. They had all said their names but she isn’t sure she will remember all of them. 

“I set up your tent last night so it should be already for you guys tonight, Max slept in our tent last night.” Tim had said 

“Thank you I appreciate it” Tobin said 

“Well have a seat in any of the chairs while we wait for the boys to wake up, they should be up soon” Tim says, as Tobin goes to sit in one of the empty chairs. 

About fifteen minutes later, after some conversation with the dads around the fire, they hear a zipper from a tent. They all look over to see who it is. 

Out if the tent comes who Tobin assumes is Sean, based on the sleepy Max that follows behind him. Max doesn’t notice Tobin right away as he is still filled with sleep. 

“How did you boys sleep” Tim asks the kids 

“Good” “Great” The boys says simultaneously 

“Max I think someone is here for you” Tim says, as Max still hasn’t noticed the figure sitting to his left. 

Max looks to his left and sees Tobin sitting in the chair and smiling back at him. “Tobi” he shouts running and jumping in her lap. 

“Hey buddy” Tobin says, giving him a kiss on his forehead. 

“I miss you so much” Max whispers in Tobin’s ear 

“I missed you more” Tobin says 

*

After everyone awoke that morning they went on a short hike to a waterfall. The kids insisted that they wanted to go play under the waterfall so Tobin went in with them. 

The water was freezing for Tobin, but for some reason the kids had no concept of that, they were enjoying every second of it. 

They had some lunch, which was roasting hot dogs over the fire. They decided to go fishing after lunch. They were going to do it from the dock but the boys wanted to fish from the boat. So each pair got a boat and headed out to fish. 

When Tobin rowed them out to the center of the lake, where she thought it would be a good spot for them to fish she pulled the oars in the boat. 

She then got out the fishing rods and the bait to get ready to fish. “Okay ready Max I am going to show you how to do it” Tobin says, Max shakes his head and leans up to watch Tobin 

“So we have some love bait in here. What you want to do is grab the hook very carefully. It is very sharp so if you aren’t careful it can hurt you. So once you have a hold of the hook you want to stick the worm on it carefully. You want to stick the hook through the worm a couple times to make sure the fish don’t steal it quickly.” Tobin says as she sticks the worm onto the hook slowly so she can show Max how to do it. 

“Does it hurt the worm” Max asks 

“You know what buddy, I am not sure. But I don’t think it does. See how he is still moving. It probably just feels like a shot when you got to the doctor” Tobin says 

“So now we are all set so you take the rod and move back and throw it forward and release this little button. Than you just wait until you see the bobber get pulled under” Tobin says send the line out into the lake “You want to try” 

“Yes!” Max shouts. So Tobin lets him set the fishing rod up all by himself with a little help from her. Once he has it in the water he shouts “I did it” 

“Yeah you did buddy. Proud of you” Tobin says 

The two sit in silence while they wait for any of the fish to bite. But Max couldn’t stay quiet for much longer. “Tobi” Max says 

“Yeah buddy” Tobin responds as she looks over towards the younger boy 

“Did you like Kindergarten” Max asks 

“Yeah I did buddy. I loved kindergarten. You will love it so much” Tobin says 

“What do you do in Kindergarten” Max asks 

“Well lets see, you have to learn some stuff, like the alphabet and numbers. You get to have gym, art and music class. Oh and recess is the best because you can hang out with your friends” Tobin says trying to get the boy excited 

“I already know the alphabet and numbers. So I will just go to gym class.” Max says triumphantly 

Tobin laughs “It doesn’t work like that buddy. But I bet you will be the smartest one in the class, just like your mommy” Tobin says. As she says that there begins to be a tug on Max’s line. 

Tobin shows him how to reel in the line. When they get the line out there is a small fish hooked to the line. “Tobi, Tobi I caught a fish” Max shouts 

“You did buddy” Tobin says as she unhooks the fish. “Why don’t you hold this so I can take a picture to show your mom” Tobin says

Max holds the fish and smiles at the camera as Tobin gets the photo. “Okay, now throw it back” Tobin says as Max throws the fish back into the water. 

Unfortunately that was the only fish they caught for the day. When they got too bored and couldn’t stand still anymore they rowed back to shore. 

*

Later that night the group was all sitting by the fire. They were making s’mores and telling stories. Rick or Rock, Tobin couldn’t remember his name, and started to tell a ghost story. 

Let’s just say it scared her a little bit, so the boys were freaking out. This made for a terrible time trying to get the boys to want to go to sleep. They didn’t want to be alone. 

So here Tobin and Max were in their tent. Tobin in her sleeping bag and Max in his. Tobin had just finally fallen asleep when she felt tapping on her shoulder. 

Tobin rolls over and opens her eyes to see Max looking at her. “Tobi, Can I sleep with you. I scared” 

“Okay buddy. But you have nothing to be scared about. It is just a story” Tobin says and she makes room for Max to get in. He gets in and they sleep soundly through the night. 

*

Tobin did a quick drop off of Max at Christen’s house. A couple kisses and hugs and Tobin had to be off to catch her flight. Tobin was sad that she couldn’t have spent more time with them but she had promised Mark to be back at practice Monday morning. 

It was a couple weeks later, and it was coming up on Max’s first day of school. Luckily it just so happened to be right before a USWNT camp so Tobin was able to fly to Utah before heading to camp. 

Unfortunately though Christen wouldn’t be at this camp. She didn’t get asked to join this camp, but she was grateful for it. She was grateful she wouldn’t have to pull Max out of school when it had just started. 

That night they were getting Max ready for bed and getting his stuff all ready for tomorrow. They got all of the school supplies loaded up in his simple black jansport backpack. 

He wanted a soccer ball lunch box which was currently in the kitchen ready to be packed with snacks and lunch tomorrow morning. Christen was laying out his outfit for tomorrow. She decided on a pair of his nicest cargo shorts and a striped polo shirt. 

They two women tucked the boy in, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight buddy, you have to get lots of sleep for tomorrow. I love you. ” Tobin says 

“Goodnight sweetheart. Sweet dreams. I love you” Christen says 

“Goodnight mommy and Tobi. I love yous” Max says 

*

When the women walk out of the room and head to Christen’s, Christen just sits on the edge of the bed. Tobin walks over and stands between up legs, and lifts her chin up to look at her. 

“Are you okay baby?” Tobin asks 

“Yeah. I think. He is just growing up so fast. His first day of kindergarten is tomorrow.” Christen Said 

“I know he is growing faster than I could have ever imagined. But he has to go and he is going to have such a good time.” Tobin says 

“I know I just want him to stay my little man forever” Christen says 

“He will always be your little man no matter how big he gets” Tobin says, leaning forward to give Christen a peck on the lips. 

*

The next morning once Christen finished yoga, she started to make Max lunch and get breakfast ready. Tobin must have smelled the food because she came walking into the kitchen like a zombie. 

“Good morning sleepy head” Christen said laughing at her girlfriend 

“Morning.” Tobin said going to give Christen a lengthy good morning kiss. 

“Do you want to go wake Max up with me.” Christen asked. Tobin just shook her head and followed Christen to his room. 

They got Max dressed, ate breakfast and were waiting outside for the bus. “Remember Max to be nice to everyone.” Tobin said 

“I know Tobi” Max said 

“Make sure you listen to everything your teacher says” Christen says 

“I know Mommy” Max huffs 

At that moment the bus stops in front of them. They both give Max a kiss as he walks away to get on the bus. They all wave to each other as the bus pulls away. 

As the bus pulls away Christen couldn’t hold it in anymore and the tears start to fall. Tobin grabs Christen and pulls her close. She give Christen a kiss on the forehead while just holding her and letting her cry it out. 

When the moment passes Christen pulls back and looks Tobin in the eyes. “Thank you” Christen says 

“No need to thank me. I will always be your shoulder to cry on.” Tobin says back to the younger woman. 

“I love you” Christen says, leaning up to kiss her girlfriend. 

“I love you too. You want to know what the best thing about Max going to school will be? Alone time” Tobin says winking

Christen rolls her eyes. “Let’s get inside horn dog” 

The two women spend the rest of the day inside cuddled up watching tv or giving each other mind blowing orgasms until it was time for Max to get home from school. 

When Max got home he told them all about his first day. He told them about everything they did and all of his new friends. 

After dinner they took Tobin to the airport to send her off to the National team camp. It definitely wasn’t getting any easier for the women to separate. 

*

“You look like shit” Ashlyn said the next morning at breakfast 

“My flight only got in at 4 am this morning” Tobin said trying to stifle a yawn

“Why? Portland's flight came at like noon yesterday morning? Did you miss your flight again” Ashlyn said laughing 

“No, Max’s first day of school was yesterday, so I wanted to be there” Tobin said 

“Tobs I know you want to be there for him but you also need to focus on yourself. You can’t be running yourself ragged like this” Ashlyn said 

“Yeah I know. I just miss them when I am not there. And I just want to be there for all his milestones. I just.. um I never thought I would love someone like I love him. And obviously Chris” Tobin says blushing 

Her and Ash had been friends forever. They played together at UNC so she didn’t mind spilling her guts. 

“It seems like you are becoming a mom Tobs. You may not be related to him by blood, but you are really stepping up.” Ash said smiling at her

“Do you think it is too soon for me to do that? I don’t want Chris to think I am trying to steal her role.” Tobin said starting to freak out 

“I don’t know Tobs. Maybe talk to Sharon about it. Or talk to Chris about it. But I don’t think Christen for one second thinks you are trying to steal her place. I think she is super happy to have you” Ashlyn says patting her friend on the shoulder

*

So that is how Tobin found herself sitting in Sharon’s office a few days later. “So how is the season going Tobin” Sharon asked, starting off with something easy to get Tobin to start opening up. 

“It’s going pretty good. We are currently the 4th seed but the 5th seed is super close to us. They are only 3 points out.” Tobin says, the 5th seed just so happens to be the royals. 

“How many games are left before the playoffs?” Sharon asks 

“Two for us” Tobin replies. Christen only had one game left; she had a bye next week and than her last game the following week. 

“Well that is exciting. Good luck” Sharon said 

“Thank You” Tobin said 

“So how are you doing” Sharon asks 

“Honestly I am exhausted. I feel like I haven’t had a moment to relax and breathe in forever” Tobin tells the woman 

“Why do you think that is” Sharon asks 

“I just feel like with soccer I am busy 80% of the time traveling or practicing and then when I am off, I am travelling to see Chris and Max.” Tobin says answering the question 

“How is that relationship going with Christen” Sharon asks 

“It's going really good. I have never felt this way towards a woman. She makes me so happy without even trying.” Tobin says smiling as she thinks about it

“And your relationship with Max” Sharon asks as a follow up

“That is also really good. I got to spend the weekend camping with him and a bunch of his friends and their dads. He just started kindergarten and I got to be there for his first day. Oh and I made him his own room at my place.” Tobin starts rambling off all the things she has done with Max recently 

“We’ll it does seem like you have been busy between all that and the season, no wonder you are exhausted. But it seems like you are stepping into a parental role seamlessly. How do you feel about that?” Sharon questions 

“I'm scared, nervous. Like is it too soon for all this. What do you think, am I moving too fast? Do you think Chris thinks I am trying to take over for her?” Tobin starts to freak out

“Tobin, breathe for me. I don’t think you are moving too fast. I think you are moving at the pace that is working for you guys. But I also think you need to talk to Christen about that, only she can answer how she feels” Sharon says 

“Yeah you are right” Tobin responds, knowing she will have to do that seeing as Ash also said the same thing. 

“Now for your exhaustion thing, Tobin I know you want to be with them but you also have to focus on your health. Maybe you need to take a break instead of filling every moment up. Have they come to visit you?” Sharon asks 

“Not since before the season started. They only came when we played the royals at home.” Tobin says 

“Well maybe ask her to come visit instead of you going to visit them at the drop of a hat.” Sharon tells the woman 

“Yeah maybe I will do that.” Tobin says 

*

Later that night Christen and Tobin were in bed talking on FaceTime. “I miss you” Tobin said 

_ “I miss you too babe” Christen responded  _

“Do you think maybe you could come visit” Tobin asked 

_ “Oh course I will come visit when the season is over” Christen responds _

“I mean like this weekend. You have a bye” Tobin said 

_ “Babe, I can’t” Christen said, sad that she couldn’t tell Tobin what she wanted to hear  _

“Why not?” Tobin said starting to get frustrated 

_ “Max is in school for one” Christen tell Tobin  _

“You can come after he gets out on Friday and leave Sunday night. I'll buy the tickets for you guys. He wouldn’t have to miss a day” Tobin says hoping that was the key to getting her to come 

_ “That's not the only reason Tobin. Just because I have a bye week, I have practiced” Christen says  _

“Can’t you just ask Laura for a couple days off? I have asked Mark and he would give me days off to go see you” Tobin says, not understanding why Christen was being so difficult. This seemed like easy solutions to her. 

_ “She will say no. We have to win in order to even have dreams of going to the playoffs. And then the playoffs are coming up. It’s not the middle of the season I can’t just take off out of the blue” Christen tells her girlfriend  _

“So you won’t even ask her to see what she say?” Tobin says annoyed. Her frustrations having reached a boiling point. 

_ “No I am not. There is no point when the answer is no” Christen said, also getting increasingly annoyed at what is happening.  _

“You know you are just like Shirley. I always travel to see you to make you happy and run myself ragged but it's never the other way around. I should have known this was going to happen. It’s what always happens to me. I can’t believe I let it happen again.” Tobin stops immediately after she registers what she just said 

“Wait I didn’t mean that. I am” Tobin tries to get out before Christen cuts her off. 

“You know what if thats what you think, I think we should take a break” Christen sayd hanging up the Facetime Call

It takes Tobin a second to register what happens. When she comes to her senses she immediately calls Christen back but it rings and goes to voicemail. She hangs up and tries again but it immediately goes to the voicemail this time. 

So she decides to leave her a voicemail. “Chris, baby please I am so sorry. I didn’t mean any of that. You are nothing like Shirley and you know that. Please please call me back. I love you” Tobin says. 

She cries herself to sleep that night, wishing she could turn back time. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought of the chapter, constructive criticisms or any ideas for the story.


	19. Putting the pieces back together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I wrote this chapter fast. The ideas just kept coming out. I think it is easier to write angsty stuff than fluff. Also thank you so much for all the comments on the last chapter, I enjoyed ready all of them so much. Well hope you like it

The next morning when Tobin woke up she was hoping that what happened last night was all a nightmare. But it wasn’t. 

She went to look at her phone hoping there was a missed call or a text from Christen. Sure enough there was a text. 

**Chris 😍😘🥰: Text me when you are up. I will call when you are up and Max is at school.**

**Tobin: I am up**

*****

About a half hour later Tobin’s phone rang. She answered it as quickly as she could. “Chris, I am so sorry” Tobin rushed out

_ “Stop. You are going to listen to me right now. I listened to everything you said last night. Whether or not you meant what you said last night you still said it. I don’t think you understand how much that hurt me. I feel that I have done everything I can to make you see I love you. I never asked you to travel to see me and Max all the time. I am so grateful that you do. But you can’t fault me for not doing that. I have a kid, it's not as easy for me to get on a plane and go anywhere I want.” Christen says, and pauses opening up and opportunity for Tobin to say something  _

“You are right. I’m sorry. I just miss you and” Tobin says but Christen cuts her off

_ “I know you are sorry. But missing me isn’t an excuse for this. I know you understand this but Tobin soccer is our career, just like you were mad at Shirley for trying to make you give up your career for her, you can’t try to make me do the same.” Christen said  _

Tobin never even thought about that. She never saw that as what she had done to Christen last night. “Chris I didn’t realize I did that. I am sorry” Tobin says 

_ “Again I know you are. But I don’t know if you are ready for this relationship and what it is going to take to maintain it. I love you, but I think we need to take a break. I need to focus on the rest of my season and so do you. We can revisit this after, but right now I think that is what’s best” Christen says letting a teardrop from her eye  _

“Chris no. Please no. I am ready for this. I am so ready I want this. I don’t want a break or to break up. I love you and I want to be with you” Tobin whines out as the tears are falling from her eyes. 

_ “I don’t want to break up either. But I need a break right now. I am not doing this to go see other people and I hope you don’t do that either. But i just need a break and to focus on Max and the rest of my season” Christen says  _

Tobin lets out a sniffle before responding to Christen. “Okay if that is what you want. I will do anything you want.” Tobin says 

_ “Okay. Thank You” Christen says  _

“What does this mean. Can we still talk” Tobin asks 

_ “No I think it's best if we don’t have contact with each other. That includes Max’s lesson I will just tell him that you are busy with training or that you aren’t feeling well but you love him” Christen says  _

“Okay” Tobin says, tears still falling “I do love him. I love you too.” 

_ “I love you too. Good luck on the rest of your season” Christen says  _

“You too” Tobin responds before hanging up. When she hangs up she curls herself into a ball and cries. 

*

The next couple of days each team noticed something was wrong with their respective players. But they didn’t question it. 

For the Thorns that only lasted until after their game that weekend. They lost to the Red Stars. It was just a 1-0 loss but Tobin was not in it at all and they couldn’t ignore the problem anymore. 

After most of the locker room cleared out it was mostly just the veterans left. “Tobin what is going on with you” Alex asks 

“Nothing” Tobin responds not even looking up 

“It's not nothing. You played like crap tonight.” Sinc said 

“I had an off night” Tobin said rolling her eyes 

“An off night? Tobs it's been a couple days. Even at practice but we didn’t say anything” Allie said 

“So I am having an off week. Leave me alone” Tobin says 

“No we will not. This is our season on the line” Alex said 

“Did I hassle you when you and Servando broke up and you skipped practice for a week, did I force you to tell me what happened when you and Bati got in that fight and you left for a week to go see him? No? So leave me alone” Tobin said 

That is when it clicked for Sinclair. “Tobin did something happen with Christen” she asked 

“Yes” Tobin quietly said 

“What happened?” Sinclair asked 

“She broke up with me. Or I don’t know we are on a break” Tobin said 

Allie and Alex were in shock to hear that. They would never have expected that from the two of them. They were so in love it made people sick. 

“What happened” Alex asked 

“I screwed up. I know shocker” Tobin sarcastically said 

“What did you do?” Allie questioned 

“I may have compared her to Shirley like an idiot” Tobin said 

“What?” Alex said shocked 

“I wanted her to come visit. I thought she was just making excuses not to come. So I compared her to Shirley always making me come to her” Tobin said 

“Come on Tobs, you are better than that” Sinclair says 

“I know that.” Tobin said 

“So did she say how long this break will last” Allie asked 

“She said until the season is over. That she needed to focus” Tobin said 

“Well she is right, and you need to focus too.” Sinclair said 

“I know I do. I just can’t. I don’t even want to play soccer anymore, I just want to quit and get on a plane and be with Christen and Max.” Tobin says 

“I know these things can suck. But you love soccer and you couldn’t handle your life without it. Just pick your head up, work on yourself and when the season is over you can go from their” Alex says 

“I will try. I am sorry I lost us the game” Tobin said, as the girls went in for a big group hug. 

*

The Royals lasted a little longer before they questioned her. Her play wasn’t off but she didn’t have the bright attitude she normally had. So about a week after, Amy and Rachel decided to talk to her about it. 

So after practice when everyone had left and Christen was shooting her 100 shots they approached her. 

“Chris can we talk” Amy asks 

“Yeah of course what’s up” Christen replies 

“Are you alright” Rachel asks 

“Yeah I am fine” Christen says 

“You don’t seem like yourself lately. Is something wrong” Amy asks 

Christen debated for a moment to say anything, but she hasn’t been able to talk about it with anyone yet so she might as well. “Tobin and I are on a break” Christen relents out 

“What!” Amy shouts 

Rachel slaps Amy on the shoulder. “What happened” 

“We got in a fight. Or I don’t know if we can even call it a fight” Christen tell the women 

“Details” Amy asks 

“She said I was like Shirley” Christen says 

“That idiot” Amy says “I don’t know what I am going to do with her” 

“She apologized immediately but it still hurt” Christen says 

“Of course it does. It does not feel good to be compared to someone’s shitty ex and she should have never have done that” Rachel says 

“Yeah I know. But that's not the reason for the break.” Christen says 

“So what's the reason” Amy asks 

“I don’t know if she is ready for this kind of relationship” Christen says 

“What do you mean?” Rachel asks 

“Being with someone who has a kid, long distance, a fellow soccer player. I don’t know” Christen says 

“She may not be perfect or all the way there but she is ready, and she wants it more than anything. You should hear what she tells me about you guys” Amy says 

“Is that how the fight started?” Rachel asks 

Christen thinks for a minute before responding. “I wish she would express these things to me. I feel like we communicate so well and then it disappears and that's where problems start. It started because she wanted me to come visit and I told her I couldn’t between Max and soccer” 

“She is trying Chris, she really is. Don’t give up on her just yet. I think if you asked her she would quit soccer, that's how much she loves you guys. The long distance is hard for anyone, especially someone as traumatized by it as her. As for dating someone with a kid, I don’t want to spill all Tobin’s secrets but she is more ready than you think. Ask her about her book collection when you guys talk.” Amy says 

“Thanks guys. I promise I will be on my A game this weekend.” Christen says 

*

The week came and went. Both women's moods started to get better. They were both less distracted and getting into game mode. This weekend’s games were the deciding factors. 

The royals were playing Sky Blue, the last seeded team, and the Thorns were playing the Courage, the first place team. 

The Royals played first, and they went into it with a mission. They came out firing on all cylinders. They ended up winning the game 3-0. 

After the game finished the Royals players stayed together to watch the Thorns game to see what their fate would be. 

If the Thorns won or tied they would be out of it. But if The Thorns lost it would all come down to the goal differential. 

The Thorns and Courage game was what every soccer fan wanted to see. The game was back and forth. The thorns were having a great first half getting lots of shots on goals, but Stephanie Labbe was having an amazing game and was stopping everything. 

In the 42nd minute Debinha got the ball off an amazing cross from Kristen Hamiliton and shot it into the upper ninety just outside of AD’s reach. 

In the 63rd minute the courage got a penalty kick off a late tackle by Kling. AD dove the right way but the speed behind Debinha’s shot was too much for AD. 

The final nail in the coffin was in the 85th minute when Lynn sped past 3 defenders to score. 

The Thorns were devastated. They knew the second that third goal went in their playoff hopes were crushed. But they also knew they played their hearts out and the Courage are a phenomenal team who just out played them. 

They held their heads up high as they walked to shake hands with the other team, and to walk around to sign autographs for the fans. 

*

After Tobin got back into the locker room she looked at her phone to see a text from Christen. It was a picture of her and Max presumably from after tonight's game. 

**Chris 😍🥰😘: Max and I want to say good game. And we are sorry you guys didn’t make it. We want you to know that we both love you. Only a few more weeks and then we can talk I promise.**

**Tobin: Thank you. It means a lot. But you deserve this, this is your season. I will be rooting for you. I love you guys too.**

*

The next two weeks flew by. Now that Tobin’s season was finished she decided to see Sharon on a more daily basis. For the next two weeks Tobin took as many available sessions as Sharon had to offer. 

Tobin thinks it helped her a lot. She was able to express things she normally kept bottled up. Sharon was trying to teach her coping skills as well as better ways to communicate when the time came for her and Christen to talk. 

Sharon also suggested that Christen was up for it that they come in together and talk with her, so she could help them as a couple. 

Tobin was feeling better than she had weeks prior. She chose to stay optimistic that they would work it out and would be back together in no time. 

She was focusing on her art and creating a bunch of different pieces. They would probably all just sit in the studio and no one would ever see them, but it calmed her when she was painting. 

*

The Semi finals were a couple days away. Christen and Max were getting ready to head off to Portland where the Semi-Final games and the Final game will be held if they make it the following week. 

Christen was able to get Max’s teachers to give him the work he would miss for the next two weeks, he would just have to turn it in the day he got back. 

“Mommy” Max asks, as Christen is packing his clothes into his suitcase. 

“Can I stay with Tobi in my room” Max asks 

“I will have to talk to her and see if it is okay with her” Christen says

“I hope it okay. I miss her” Max says 

“Me too. Me too” Christen says 

After she gets everything all set for the flight in the morning she decides to text Tobin. 

**Christen: Hey, Max wants to know if he can stay with you in his room while we are in Portland?**

Christen puts her phone down on the side table. She is not expecting a quick response from Tobin who normally doesn’t have her phone around her. Surprisingly she gets a response fairly quickly. 

**Tobs ❤️: Of course he can stay. He is always welcomed to stay whenever. He can stay until you guys win the championship.**

**Christen: Thank You. He really misses you. I will make sure there are tickets for both of you. If you even want to come. If not you can just drop him off, and I will handle it.**

**Tobs ❤️: Of course I want to be there. I will always be your number two fan right behind Max.**

**Christen: Okay. I love you. I will text you when to pick up Max.**

**Tobs ❤️: I love you too.**

*****

Tobin picked Max up the next day at the hotel. She didn’t get to see Christen though. Max just ran out of the hotel with his backpack and suitcase. 

When they got back to her place they decided to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie. “How is school” Tobin asks Max 

“So fun. I have so many friends” Max says 

“That is awesome. Are you learning anything cool” Tobin asks 

“We are learning the alphabet and numbers. But I know them already.” Max says 

“Of course you do, you are a little smarty pants like your mom.” Tobin says ruffling his hair 

“Mommy’s smart?” Max asks 

“Oh the smartest. Want to hear a story” Tobin says 

“Yes yes yes” Max shouts 

“When your mom and I first played together I had to take a summer class. I was having so much trouble, I just wasn’t understanding it. But your Mom spent every night sitting down with me and helping me out. She was so smart and because of her I got a really good grade” Tobin said.

She started to remember back to that time. Those nights helped Tobin see what an amazing woman Christen was. She volunteered to help her when she didn’t need to. 

She was calm when trying to explain things to her and she still didn’t get it for the hundredth time. Christen has always had a big heart and those moments just proved it. 

“She does the same thing with me. She makes me sit and do my homework all the time. It's boring” Max says

“Well that is because she is a good mom. I know it's boring but you have to do it to stay smart” Tobin says 

“I know. Mommy told me to tell you I have homework to do and you have to help me.” Max said 

“Me? Help you? I don’t know if that's a good idea” Tobin says laughing 

“Tobi, it's little kid’s homework. It’s easy” Max says to the older woman. 

*

The next day it rained so Max and Tobin spent the day doing all of his homework. She assumed that his teachers probably wanted him to spread it out over the course of two weeks. 

But they both wanted to get it done so they could enjoy the rest of their time together. There were about 20 sheets of work to do. They weren’t that hard in either of their eyes. 

Most of it was about days of the week, months and seasons. There was a few shape sheets thrown in there. 

Tobin let Max do it all by himself and only helped when he was really struggling. Once he finished a sheet she would check it over to make sure it was all done and correct. 

She couldn’t help but let her mind drift during the moments she had nothing to do. Would Christen be proud of her for how she is handling doing Max’s homework? Would it make her fall in love with her more? Would it brighten their future? 

*

The next day Max and Tobin spent the morning outside playing soccer and the local field by her condo. They spent the afternoon building one of his new lego sets. 

The two of them were eating dinner and Tobin had just finished, but Max still had some food left on his plate. 

“So after dinner I think we should clean the house, just in case mommy comes tomorrow after her game” 

“Ughh I hate cleaning” Max complained 

“I know. Me too. But you know your mom hates mess” Tobin says 

“Yeah she loves when it’s cleaned” Max said 

So that is what they did. They made sure the house was cleaned. Max cleaned up all his toys from the living room and then went and cleaned his room. 

Meanwhile Tobin cleaned the kitchen, wiping down all the surfaces and making sure the dishes were put away. She then scrubbed down the bathrooms, followed by making sure her room was clean and no clothes were thrown around. 

*

The next afternoon Max and Tobin sit in the family and friends section with Ryan and Amy’s husband watching the game. The Royals were the fourth seed playing against the number one seed the courage. 

Nobody expected the Royals to win, but the Royals were putting up a brilliant fight. It wasn’t until the 73rd minute when Debinha was able to slip one past the Royal goalkeeper Barnhart. 

Tobin still didn’t understand why they chose to start Barnhart over Abby Smith, other than maybe experience being a factor. 

But that is how the game ended. Unfortunately for the Royals their season was over. Following the end of the game Max dragged Tobin down to go see his mom. 

They walked over to where Christen was and Max jumped into his mom's arms to give her a big hug. Tobin stayed back given them space. Not sure what she should do. 

“Mommy I sorry.” Max says 

“It's okay buddy. They are a really good team” Christen says 

“Yeah you did really good” Max says 

“Thank you” Christen says, looking over at Tobin who was just standing there awkward. She motions her head for Tobin to come join in on the hug. 

So that is what Tobin does. A few seconds into the hug Christen turns to whisper into Tobin’s ear “Amy is going to take Max so we can talk” 

“Okay” Tobin responds, suddenly a little nervous about where the night will end up. 

*

That is how the women found themselves sitting at opposite ends of Tobin’s couch later that evening. Neither one was saying anything, both trying to get their bearings. 

“I want to speak first” Christen says. Tobin nods her head signifying for Christen to continue. “I am sorry. I should have understood more where you were coming from and did a better job at explaining to you my side of things.” 

“No, Chris. I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I just let everything get to me and then I let things out that I shouldn’t have. I should have never called you Shirley’s name. That was so wrong of me” Tobin rushes out 

“You are right you shouldn’t have called me her name. It was really hurtful. But I understand where it was coming from, I don’t like that you said it, and I don’t agree with it. But I got where it was coming from.” Christen says, pausing for a moment “Tobin, I never asked you or pressured you to come visit me because I didn’t want this to happen. I never wanted you to feel like I was putting you back in that situation” 

“I know Chris. And you never did. I think it was myself. It never even crossed my mind until after I visited for Max’s first day of school. When I got to camp I was just so exhausted. After talking with Sharon and Ash they both said I need to stop traveling to you. So that's when I asked you to come. I think between my stress and all my exhaustion I just blew up on you. I shouldn’t have and I am so sorry.” Tobin says, playing with her fingers.

“Tobs, I am so glad that you asked me to come. I love that you want me here. Under other circumstances I would have gotten on the next flight out. But with Max being in school I can’t do that anymore. I can’t just leave whenever. Also, I wasn’t going to ask Laura to leave because I didn’t want to.” Christen says, looking up at a shocked Tobin 

“What do you mean?” Tobin asked 

“As much as I am sure that Laura would have said go ahead, we had a must win game to get ready for. I didn’t want to just leave my team high and dry when we needed to prepare. I should have told you that from the get go” Christen said 

“No, I should have thought of that. I was in the same position as you. That should have crossed my mind and I should have never asked that of you.” Tobin said pausing “I will try to do better” 

“I know you will. But I promise to do better as well. I have to understand that you aren’t in my mind, so you can’t read it.” Christen says 

“So, um, where do we go from here?” Tobin pauses “Are we still on a break?” Tobin says as she just looks up at Christen with hopeful eyes. 

“I want us to be back together. I don’t want to be on a break. I love you and I missed you” Christen says. Tobin wastes no time jumping forward to giving Christen a long passionate kiss. She was trying to make up for a couple weeks worth of them. 

“I want that too” Tobin says as she pulls away 

“I have something for you” Christen says, getting up and going to her bag. She comes back to the couch and sits closer to Tobin then she was at the beginning of their conversation. 

She hands Tobin the box. “Open it” Christen says. So Tobin does. She opens up the small box. Inside it is a key. 

“What is this?” Tobin questions 

“It’s a key to my place in Utah. I want you to spend the off season with me and Max there. I know that this is your home but Max has school, so we have to stay there. I want you to stay with us, if you want” Christen asks 

“You are asking me to move in with you?” Tobin says smiling up at Christen

“I guess. I just want you to know I am in this all the way with you. I don’t know about moving in moving in because I don’t really consider that home, but I want that house to be just as much yours as it is mine.” Christen says 

“Yes, I want to be there with you. It can be like a test run. I love you so much” Tobin says leaning in to give Christen another kiss. 

*

Later than night they are laying on the couch watching a movie. Christen is laying on top of Tobin playing with the strings on her hoodie. “How was Max” Christen asks 

“He was really good. We played some soccer, built some legos, we made sure the house was clean for you. No incidents. Oh and we finished all his homework.” 

Christen looked up at Tobin in disbelief and stopped playing with the strings on her hoodie. “What do you mean you finished all of his homework?” 

“I mean all of the sheets in his folder are done and checked” Tobin said 

“You guys finished two weeks of homework already?” Christen asked 

“Well yeah. Max said you wanted me to help and it was raining so we got it out of the way so we could enjoy the rest of our time together.” Tobin pauses before whispering “and I wanted you to think I am ready” 

“Hey” Christen says, lifting up Tobin’s chin to look at her “I appreciate that you helped him with his homework and I do think you are ready” Christen says 

“Really?” Tobin questions 

“Yeah really. The way you have stepped up and shown up for him makes me speechless sometimes and I don’t know what to say. Not many people would travel just for a weekend to go on a camping trip or just spend a night so you can see his first day of school. I wouldn’t just let him come over here all the time without me if I didn’t trust you. So yes I think you are ready” Christen says 

Tobin lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Okay good. I was worried you thought I was over stepping” Tobin said 

“I don’t think you are. Maybe I never told you this before and that is on me. But I want you in our lives. I want you as my partner. Which means I want you to be a parental figure for Max. Baby if you ever have these feelings of overstepping just talk to me.” Christen says

“I want to be with you guys forever too. I have been trying my best to step up and show you I am ready to be a parent. I have been talking to Amy when I have questions” Tobin says 

“You show me everyday. Amy mentioned something about that. She told me to ask you about your book collection” Christen asked 

“Ugh I am going to kill her” Tobin said starting to feel a bit embarrassed “I may have bought a bunch of parenting and stepparenting books to read” Tobin says blushing 

“You are the cutest. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be in love with someone like you.” Christen said 

“No, I think I am the lucky one.” Tobin says leaning up to give Christen a peck 

“So I did have a question that one of my books brought up. It was saying how sometimes kids start to call their stepparents mom and dad and how that could affect their birth parents. So I wanted to know what you thought about that.” Tobin asked 

“Um well I think our situation might be different than the ones in the book. Max’s dad isn’t around so we don’t have to worry about his feelings towards it. I personally don’t care if he starts to call you a variation of mom. I know I will always be mommy or mom. I guess you could be mama or something. But it's really up to Max and whatever he wants to call you. How would you feel if he called you Mama?” Christen asksed 

“I think I would like it. I mean I’ve thought about it. I know I will probably just stay Tobi in his mind. I don’t mind that though I know it doesn’t change how he feels about me.” Tobin says 

“I love you.” Christen says leaning forward to connect their lips in a passionate kiss. The kiss quickly went from innocent to not. Tobin’s hands started to move down Christen's back down to her butt. Which she massaged with the palms of her hand once she reached it. 

  
  


* **SMUT***

Tobin spreads open her legs so that Christen can slot her front in between them. Christen grabs Tobin’s hand and slots their fingers together and puts them over her head on the couch. 

When air becomes a problem they separate. This gives Tobin the opportunity to grab Christen by the ass and lift her up. Christen lets out a giggle as Tobin carries them to the bedroom. 

When she reaches the bed Tobin lays Christen down on it and climbs up on top of her to return to kissing the beautiful girl under her. 

Tobin lifts Christen’s shirt up a little bit and starts kissing Christen’s stomach. She doesn’t have abs but she is definitely toned and Tobin thinks it is perfect. 

After a few seconds she lifts the shirt the rest of the way off of Christen's body. She wastes no time in grabbing Christen’s left breast before moving her mouth down onto the nipple. 

She sucks the nipple into her mouth, while moving her tongue over the sensitive nipple, which gains her a moan out of Christen’s mouth. 

But before Tobin can give attention to the right nipple Christen pulls her back up for a kiss. While they are kissing Tobin can feel Christen trying to get her hoodie off. 

So Tobin separates for a brief second so she can rip the hoodie off. This allowed Christen access to her breasts. Christen started swirling her tongue repeatedly over Tobin’s nipples. Making sure she gave attention to both. 

“Fuck” Tobin breathes out 

Christen used Tobin being distracted to flip them over. She moved her hand down to start rubbing her hand over Tobin center. She could feel how wet Tobin was getting through her boxers. 

So she kept rubbing a Tobin center while sucking on her breast. She knew she was doing a good job just by the sounds coming out of Tobin’s mouth. 

Christen moved her hand from the outside of Tobin’s boxes to the inside of them. She moved her fingers through Tobin slit to coat her fingers before she pulled them out and licked them clean. 

“Chris you are so fucking out” Tobin tells the woman 

Christen moves her hands back down to slide off Tobin’s boxers. Christen slid down the bed and lined up her tongue with Tobin center. She swiped her tongue up the length of Tobin’s pussy. 

She then licks in and out of Tobin's center at a rapid pace, while using her free hand to rub circles around Tobin’s clit. 

Christen continues but uses her other hand to stick a finger inside of Tobin. She moves it in and out making sure to curl it at the right times. Christen then adds a second finger. 

“I’m close” Tobin tells Christen 

Christen continues her action and seconds later she can feel the tightening around her fingers as well as the shaking coming from Tobin’s body. 

Christen continues until Tobin had rode out her orgasm before she leans up and kisses Tobin once more. 

“Sit on my face” Tobin asks 

So that is what Christen does. She gets on her knees above Tobin’s face, facing towards the headboard. Tobin taps her butt letting her know to lower herself. 

When Christen's center is closing enough to Tobin’s mouth, she starts swiping her tongue the length of Christen’s pussy. 

Tobin sucks Christen clit into her mouth swiping her tongue over it. Christen was already close from giving Tobin and orgasm so she wasn’t going to last longer. 

So Tobin sped up the movement of her tongue making sure she did exactly what she knew Christen liked. 

“Yes baby. Just like that” Christen moans out. And that is how Christen came, on top of Tobin’s face. 

Christen got off of Tobin’s face and cuddled up into Tobin’s side. “It gets better every time” Tobin says smiling, pretty proud of herself 

“Yeah it does. I love you” Christen says 

“I love you too” Tobin says

* **SMUT***

*****

A couple nights later after Max is asleep, Tobin and Christen are talking. “Oh I forgot I have therapy tomorrow, and um I have been meaning to ask, would you want to come with me?” Tobin asks 

“I would love to go. I think it would be good for us. But what would we do with Max?” Christen asks 

“I can ask like Alex or Allie to watch him for the time” Tobin asks 

“Okay that sounds good.” Christen says 

*

“Goodmorning Tobin, and you must be Christen” Sharon says as she shakes their hands 

“Yes, nice to meet you” Christen says 

“Well have a set and we can get started.” Sharon goes and grabs two notepads and pens and hands one to each of them. “Take these and we will get started” 

“What’s this for” Tobin questions 

“So how I like to do things is I will ask you guys some questions, but I want you to write them down before we discuss so that you guess have your own answers instead of taking eachothers” Sharon tells them 

“Okay sounds good” Tobin responds 

“What do you guys think your biggest problem is” Sharon asks, as both girls go to write down their answers. When they both look up Sharon asks Tobin to share her answer first. 

“Communication” Tobin says 

“And Christen what did you put” Sharon asks 

“Communicating” Christen says 

“Now Tobin why do you think that is a problem?” Sharon asks 

“You know how I have a hard time expressing myself. So instead of talking about things right away I hold them in, until I explode. Like with our last issue” Tobin said looking over at Christen 

“Now I obviously know what the issue is because we spoke about it, but why don’t you tell us again in your own words” Sharon said 

“Well everyone was telling me to talk to you about how I was exhausted and how I wanted you to come visit. But instead about talking to you about it, I just exploded and we never got a chance to talk” Tobin said 

“Good, now Christen why did you put down communicating” Sharon asks 

“Well I put it down because sometimes I feel like we are really good about it, but then other times we lack in it and that is when the problems start. Also sometimes I just expect Tobin to know what I want, am feeling or understand what I am saying without being clear on it” Christen says 

“These are some easily fixable issues if the work is put into it. I always say that you should talk about issues right away, but sometimes that is easier said than done. So my suggestion is maybe once a week, pick a day and time and talk about your week. Do you have an issue you need to communicate to each other.” Sharon suggests 

“That sounds good. I think we can try that” Tobin says, looking at Christen for her approval. 

“Yeah I would definitely like to try that” Christen says 

“Next question what does the other person do that gets on your nerves?” Sharon asks, followed by the women writing down their answers “Christen why don’t we start with you on this one” 

“The thing that annoys me most about Tobin is and I think it is silly but how bad of a texter she is” Christen says 

“And why does that bother you” Sharon asks 

“I just we are in a long distance relationship so most of our communication is only through text messages. So sometimes I wish she would respond quicker, or text more than one word” Christen says

“Tobin how does that make you feel?” Sharon asks 

“It makes me feel sad because I have really been trying. But she is right. I have never been one to be attached to my phone” Tobin says 

Christen grabs Tobin’s hand “Baby you have gotten so much better. Don’t get down on yourself. It's just a miss you when we aren’t together so I want to try to talk to you as much as I can.” Christen says 

“Good ladies, this is good. Now Tobin what annoys you about Christen” Sharon asks 

“Um. Um.” Tobin is nervous to say it out loud “Um. How much you like to plan” Tobin says 

Christen is actually not surprised by that answer, Tobin is very spontaneous and she is not. 

“Why does that bother you Tobin” Sharon asks 

“Because I just like to go with the flow. Sometimes I don’t like to have a set schedule. I just like to be spontaneous. But it makes me nervous that if I don’t follow your schedule to a tee you will get mad, or if I surprise you, you won’t enjoy yourself because I messed it up” Tobin says 

“Babe, I will never get mad at you for your surprise visits. Please don’t ever think that. I know I like to plan but we don’t ever have to follow it to a tee. It just helps with my anxiety. Maybe together we can work on not following it as much, but I need you to speak up for that to happen.” Christen says 

“I will try. But how do I go about it without upsetting you” Tobin asks 

“My suggestion would be something along the lines of calmly telling Christen that you want to slow down, or do this or do that, or ask how important the task is at hand to gauge if it’s something that needs to be done or can be pushed back” Sharon tells them 

“I think that sounds good” Christen says 

“Okay I will try that” Tobin says 

“My last question for today is what do you love most about the other person” Sharon asks, Tobin wastes no time starting to write a long list of things. Christen finishes but Tobin is still writing. “Tobin we aren’t writing a book just one thing please” Sharon laughs 

Tobin looks up “Sorry there is just so much”

“Tobin why don’t you start why don’t you just give me the first thing you wrote” Sharon tells Tobin

“Okay, I love how great of a Mom she is” Tobin says 

“And why is that” Sharon asks 

“I just love the way she cares for him and how she would do anything to make sure he is happy and loved. I love how bright she smiles when he does something awesome or good. Like when he scored this really awesome goal I never thought the smile would leave her face. But also how she puts her foot down when he needs to listen or is in trouble. It makes me happy that hopefully one day I could be half the mom she is. I love that her being a mom to Max makes me think about our future and how I hope to have more little Christen’s running around someday.” Tobin says

Christen's eyes may or may not have started to water because of how sweet that message was. But if you asked she would deny it. She wanted to talk about the last thing Tobin said about future kids but she figured that was a conversation for another time. 

“Okay Christen why don’t you say yours now” Sharon says 

“I put how big her heart is. The way she cares for me and Max makes me fall in love with her more each day. The fact that she would drop everything to make sure we are happy. I know sometimes we struggle but she has never treated me poorly, she always treats me like a queen” Christen says 

Tobin is happy to hear that. She always tried her best to make Christen feel loved and to know she was being successful in it was all the validation she needed. 

“I think this was really good. I hope we can do this again” Sharon says 

The girls stand up to leave. “Thank you Sharon. I won’t be coming in for awhile I am going to Utah to spend the off season with Chris and Max” Tobin says 

“Well that sounds wonderful. If you need to talk don’t hesitate to call and we can figure out a time to talk” Sharon said 

The women walk out of the office holding hands. When they get the car Tobin turns Christen so her back is against the car. “What did you think?” 

“I thought it was good. I like her. I think it helped to have someone initiate the conversation. I am excited to try out some of the things she told us” Christen says 

“Me too” Tobin says as she leans into give Christen as kiss, before she opens her door for her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought, any constructive criticisms or ideas you have for the story.


	20. My Little Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life in Utah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. So this is pretty much a fluff chapter. I intended it to be longer but I am going away camping for the next week so I wanted to get it out before I left. Also with that be said I did not re-read it to edit it. But I figured I would just post it instead of waiting. Hope you enjoy

It has been a few weeks since they all arrived back in Utah. Things were going great. Their communication was improving, now that they were using some of Sharon’s techniques. They spent their days making love and working out while Max was at school. They spent their nights together cuddling up on the couch. 

*

Christen had just picked Max up from school and they were walking in the door of the Utah home. Christen could immediately smell the dinner Tobin was cooking. They had decided after the first week that they would take turns between picking Max up from school and cooking dinner. It seemed to be working out great. 

Christen immediately walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Tobin. Tobin turned her head so she could give Christen a kiss. 

“What are you making? It smells delicious” Christen asks 

“Eggplant Parm. My mom sent me this recipe she said we should try. That my nephew loves it, so that Max would probably like it too, and it’s healthy” Tobin says smiling beaming at the younger women. 

“Sounds amazing. If he doesn’t like it he can just have the spaghetti” Christen says 

“How was pick up?” Tobin asks 

“It was good. One of the moms asked me if I wanted to join the PTA since she knew I was out of season” Christen says nonchalantly 

“Oh really? Do you want to” Tobin asks 

“I think so. I think it would be good to get involved with Max’s school. And um I am kind of bored” Christen says looking quilty 

Tobin gasps “What! Are you saying I am boring” Tobin says laughing 

“No” Christen rushes out “It’s just um we just um” 

Tobin turns the stove top down to simmer so she can turn around a lot at Christen. “I am joking babe. I completely get it. I think you should join it. But you will have to find me something to keep myself busy when you are away” 

“Okay. I can do that” Christen says 

*

“Hey can you take Max to practice today, I have my first PTA meeting” Christen asks 

“Yeah I can do it.” Tobin says 

Later that evening Tobin and Max arrive at the soccer field. They get out and Tobin makes sure Max has his shin guards on, his cleats are tied tight and he is ready to go play. 

“Okay buddy you’re all set. I will be on the bleachers if you need me” Tobin says 

Max gives her a hug before he runs off to see his friends. As Tobin walks to take her seat on the bleachers.

A few minutes later, one of the moms comes and sits down next to her. “Hi I am Sherry, you look familiar but I don’t think I have seen you around her before” She says 

“Tobin. This is my first time” Tobin says 

“Ahh messy divorce?” Sherry says 

“What?” Tobin says looking over at her. Before it clicks. “Oh um no.” 

“Which one is yours” Sherry asks 

Tobin was confused on how to answer this question. Should she say Max is hers. He feels like he is her son. 

“Max” She settles on not giving too much information to this woman. 

“Oh” The woman says shocked “Isn’t that Christen’s son” 

“Yes, she is my girlfriend” Tobin responds 

“Oh you guys are…” Sherry says before Tobin cuts her off. 

“Lesbian. Yes.” Tobin say 

“Oh well that is just wonderful. She is a lovely girl. Well I will be over there if you need me” Sherry says pointing to where there seems to be a group of woman in lawn chairs

A few minutes later Max comes running over to her. “Tobi Tobi” 

“Yeah buddy what’s up? Is everything okay?” Tobin asks 

“Can you help coach? Please I want you to be my coach?” Max asks 

Tobin looks up towards the field where the kids and the coach are just standing looking towards them. “Is that okay with your coach” Tobin nervously asks 

“Yes” Max says, grabbing Tobin’s hand to drag her down towards the field. “Tobi come on” 

“Are you sure it's okay? I don’t want to overstep” Tobin asks 

“Oh yes it is more than okay. I have no idea what I'm doing I just watch videos on YouTube to help me” The coach says 

Practice goes really well. Tobin teaches them how to shoot with the inside of their feet instead of the laces. She was enjoying it so much. She always thought about coaching, but this was proving to her that this is something she could really see herself doing. 

When practice was over the coach and Tobin were cleaning up the equipment. “Thank you so much for the help today. I think the kids really learned a lot. 

“Oh it was no problem I really enjoyed it” Tobin said 

“Well I was thinking if you wanted you could help me coach for the rest of the season” The man asked 

“Honestly I would love that, if it's okay with you” Tobin responds 

“It is more than okay with me.” The coach says 

When Tobin and Max get home they eat some dinner, wash themselves up and cuddle on the coach watching TV. 

“Tobi” Max says 

“Yeah buddy” 

“I like you living with us” Max says 

“I like it too. I am sorry it can’t always be like this” Tobin says 

“I know because soccer. Maybe one day” Max asks hopeful for the answer he wants to hear 

“I hope so buddy. More than anything” Tobin says

That is the moment that Christen walks in the house. 

“Mommy” Max shouts and runs towards her. 

“Hi sweetie.” Christen says, returning his hug. 

“How was practice” Christen asks 

“Great! Tobi is going to me my coach” Max cheerfully said 

Christen looks over at Tobin questionly “The coach asked if I wanted to help out. I really liked it. So he said I could help for the rest of the season” 

“Thats awesome Tobs” Christen says 

“Yeah, how was the meeting” Tobin asks walking over to give Christen a peck 

“Honestly really good. I enjoyed it. There is lots of organizing and planning to be done. So I think I will be great at” Christen says 

“That's awesome. I am glad you found this opportunity” Tobin says 

*

A couple days later when Christen walks in the door after picking Max up. She trips over something. She looks down and sees yet again it’s Tobin’s shoes. “Ughh Tobin!” 

“Ooo Tobi is in trouble” Max says laughing 

“Yeah she is. This is what happens when you don’t clean up after yourself. Go try and finish your homework before dinner” Christen says 

Christen walks into the living room where she sees Tobin playing her PS4. As soon as Tobin senses Christen she pauses the game to go give Christen a kiss. But she immediately senses something is wrong and Christen is angry. 

“What's wrong” Tobin questions nervously 

“I almost just sprained my ankle.” Christen says 

“Oh no. Are you okay? Was it on the sidewalk? They really need to fix that” Tobin says 

“No it wasn’t the sidewalk” Christen says 

“Then how?” Tobin asks confused as to why Christen is being so secretive 

“On your shoes Tobin. On your shoes” Christen says 

“Oh no. I am so sorry. Dang it. I knew when I got home I needed to do something and I forgot again. I went grocery shopping and I had no hands so I just slipped them off but I guess I forgot. I am so sorry. I am trying I swear” Tobin rushes out 

“I know you are trying. I know you aren’t living with people like me. Can you just try harder?” Christen asks 

“Yeah I can do that. I promise” Tobin says 

Following that statement Christen walks over to Tobin and gives her a quick passionate kiss. “Thank you for grocery shopping. I love you” Christen says 

“You’re welcome. I love you too. Guess what I found when I was shopping?” Tobin says 

“What?” Christen asks 

“Vegan ice cream! I know you are trying it out a little bit. So I figured we could try this one and see how it is. But if it is gross I am not eating it again” Tobin says 

“Tobin I love you. I makes me feel really special that you thought of me when you were out, and that you are willing to try out different foods with me” Christen says 

“I just want to make sure you are the happiest you can be” Tobin says 

“Well I am happier than I have ever been. Getting to spend everyday together with you and Max is more than I could have ever dreamed of.” Christen says leaning in for another kiss. 

*

It was the following week, Christen had something to do with the PTA, so it was just Tobin and Max at home. When Max got home he didn’t want to do his homework so Tobin made an agreement with him that if she let him play the video game now, that after dinner they had to do it before his mom got home. 

So here they were after dinner, sitting at the Table trying to get his homework done. Max was a smart kid but when he didn’t want to do something it became very frustrating to get him to focus. 

“Come on Max, I know you know this.” Tobin says 

“No, I don’t know. Can I just play my game” Max begs 

“No buddy. We have to finish your homework and than we can go play” Tobin says 

“I don’t I don’t know it” Max said throwing his pencil 

“Max, go pick that up please. We don’t throw things when we get frustrated” Tobin said 

“No. You pick it up” Max fires back 

“Excuse me? What did you just say?” Tobin questions 

“I said no. You pick it up. I don’t know the answer. I am going to play the game” Max says, starting to walk towards the living room. 

“No you aren’t. Pick up your pencil and come sit back down. You do not talk to me like that. Now because of your attitude no more game for the night.” Tobin 

“No! I hate you. I don’t have to listen to you, your not my mommy” Max says running off to his room and slamming the door 

Damn, Tobin thought, that kid really knows how to punch in the gut. She knows he doesn’t mean it and he is just angry. But hearing the words I hate you come out of his mouth really stung. 

She also knows she isn’t his mommy. But she really thought they were bonding and he was starting to see her more for that role. Maybe she was stupid to thing he would ever think that. A few tears started to fall from her eyes as she just sat there at the table contemplating what to do. 

*

Tobin doesn’t know how long she was sitting there for. She was in a trance. The only thing that brought her out of her trance was two soft hands being placed on her cheeks. 

She looked up into the beautiful green eyes of the woman she loves the most. She immediately feels more relaxed than she was a second ago. 

“Baby you okay? I was calling your name for like five minutes?” Christen asks 

“Um, I don’t think so” Tobin says. She contemplated telling a white lie, and saying everything was fine but she knows that wouldn’t be productive. 

“What wrong?” Christen asks 

“Max said he hates me. I was just trying to get him to do his homework. But I think it's my fault.” Tobin says 

“What do you mean it's your fault? What happened?” Christen asks 

“Well when I got home he wanted to play the game so I said he could play it as long as after dinner we sat and did his homework. But after dinner he was getting frustrated with the homework and threw his pencil and said he just wanted to play the game. Then he started talking back to me when I told him to get the pencil and that he couldn’t play the game anymore. Then he said he hated me and that I wasn’t his mom. I mean he is right, I probably had no right to reprimand him like that.” Tobin said, trying to summarize the events of earlier 

“Babe stop right there. I know you aren’t his mom by birth. But you being here, part of this trial move in together process is for us to see how this is going to work long term. When I asked you to stay here, that was me also giving you some parental roles. So you have every right to reprimand him when he is misbehaving.” Christen says taking Tobin’s hand in hers 

“It is a learning process not everything is going to be perfect right away. You were trying to be his friend when you let him play the game first and do his homework later. But he wasn’t being a good one back, he was trying to take advantage of you. But babe you aren’t the first one to have this happen to you and you won’t be the last. That is what kids do. They push buttons and try to get away with whatever they can.” Christen says 

“So I didn’t do anything wrong?” Tobin cautiously asks. 

“No you didn’t. I promise the only thing you have done wrong is I still haven’t gotten a kiss” Christen says trying to make Tobin smile 

Tobin leans in and gives Christen a quick kiss. But is still too distracted to get into it. She pulls away. “But he said he hates me” Tobin says 

“He doesn’t mean it babe. He was just angry. He has said it to me before. I bet you said it to your parents a bunch of times. It doesn’t mean he actually hates you; he is just upset. But I will go talk to him.” Christen says, giving Tobin one last kiss before she heads down to Max’s room. 

*

Christen knocks on the door. “Max it is mommy I am coming in” Christen says as she opens the door. When she walks in she sees Max playing with his legos on the floor. 

He gets up and goes to hug his mom. “Hi mommy” 

“Hi sweetheart. Come sit with me on the bed we need to talk” Christen says as she leads them over to the bed to sit down. Once they are settled Christen starts speaking. 

“What happened tonight?” Christen asks. She read that it is better to have children tell you what happened than automatically accusing them. 

“Tobi was mean to me.” Max said 

“How was she mean to you? Because I heard you were mean to her” Christen responded 

“She wouldn’t let me play the game” Max said 

“Why wouldn’t she let you play the game?” Christen asks him 

“She was making me do my homework” Max said 

“Okay and what is our rule” Christen said 

“Homework first, fun and games after” Max quietly whispers 

“Exactly. Didn’t she let you break that rule and play the game right after school instead of doing your homework as long as you did it after dinner” Christen says to the little boy 

“Yeah, but but” Max tries to come up with an excuse 

“But nothing. You know the rules. Tobin was being nice to you and you weren’t nice back to her. Also, you know when don’t throw things or talk back to adults” Christen said

“I’m sorry mommy.” Max says 

“I am not the one you have to apologize to. You have to apologize to Tobin, you hurt her feelings when you said you hated her.” Christen says 

“I know. I don’t hate her. I love her.” Max said 

“I know you do. But you can’t say those things if you don’t mean them. Before you go out there and apologize to Tobin and finish your homework I think we need to talk.” Christen says 

“Okay mommy” Max says 

“So you know Tobin and I are dating. That she is my girlfriend right?” Christen asks 

“Yeah. She makes you happy and you guys hold hands and kiss” Max says 

“Yeah, and how she is living with us right now for a couple months?” Christen says 

“Yes. I like having her here. She makes the best mac n cheese” Max says 

“I like having her here too. But you know how you have to listen to me, because I am in charge and you mommy?” Christen says 

“Yeah” Max responds 

“Well you have to listen to her too just like you listen to me.” Christen tries to explain to him 

“Okay. I will. I promise.” Max says 

“Good. I love you. Now go apologize to Tobin” Christen says 

“I love you too” Max responds as he gets off of his bed and heads out of the room. 

*

“Tobi” Max whispers out as he walks into the living room

“Hey buddy” Tobin quietly says 

“I’m sorry I said I hated you. I lie. I love you” Max says as he is standing in front of Tobin 

“Come here” Tobin says, holding out both her arms so she can pull him into her lap. “I love you too”

Max leans in and gives Tobin a kiss on the cheek. “You really hurt my feelings buddy” Tobin says 

“I know. I just, we just, we used to have fun” Max said 

“Buddy I think we still have fun. But sometimes we can’t have fun and we have to be serious and get our school work done” Tobin says 

“I know.” Max says 

“I know you don’t like it as much but I can’t just be your friend anymore, sometimes I have to be the adult that is your mom's girlfriend” Tobin says 

“That's what mommy said. I am sorry I broke our promise” Max said sadly 

“It's not okay. But I forgive you. I love you buddy. But I think that there is going to be no more video games for the rest of the week” Tobin said 

“Okay. Can you help me finish my homework” Max nervously asks 

“Yeah buddy, let's go” Tobin says lifting them up off the couch. 

*

“Hey mom” Tobin says into the phone 

_ “Hi precious I haven’t heard from you in awhile” Cindy replies _

“I know. Sorry, I have just been super busy” Tobin says 

_ “Busy with what its the off season” Cindy says  _

“Um I am actually in Utah” Tobin says. She knew she forgot to tell someone she was moving in with Christen 

_ “Why are you in Utah?” Cindy asks  _

“Um well Christen kind of asked to move in with her” Tobin said 

_ “Oh wow that is a big step” Cindy says  _

“Yeah it is. I mean we are doing it as a trial period for the off season, with Max having school she didn’t want to pull him out for a couple months. So she asked me to come stay with her” Tobin tells her mother 

_ “And how is that going?” Cindy asked  _

“Its going well. Really well actually. I love getting to be with them 24/7.” Tobin says 

_ “That is awesome to hear. We can talk more about it during thanksgiving. You are still coming right?” Cindy questions her youngest daughter _

“Yeah mom I am coming” Tobin says 

_ “And are you bringing your little family” Cindy asks _

“I don’t know, I didn’t ask. I would like them to come. Would that be okay?” Tobin nervously asks 

_ “It is more than okay. I would love them to come so I can meet the people that make my daughter so happy” Cindy tell hers  _

“Okay. I will ask her tonight and see what she says” Tobin says 

*

Later than night Tobin asks her. “Chris I don’t know what your plans are for Thanksgiving but would you like to come with me and meet my family” Tobin asks 

Christen decides she is going to mess with Tobin a little bit. “Ehh I don’t know I think I am busy” Christen says 

“Oh okay. Thats fine you don’t have to come.” Tobin sadly says 

“I am kidding. I would love to come. I have honestly been waiting for you to ask” Christen says 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know you thoughts on this chapter, any constructive criticisms, or ideas for the story.


	21. Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Holidays and something special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys I am so sorry. Life got really crazy and than with everything going it writing got to be so hard. I wrote half of this chapter like months ago and never finished it. So I am sorry. So I tried to rush this out so I didn’t re-read anything so if its bad I am sorry.

Their flight to Florida for the holidays was tomorrow. Christen was in their room packing. Their room, Tobin loved the sound of that. It was something that instantly gave her butterflies every time she thought about it. Tobin was helping Max pack for the trip. 

“Tobi” Max asks as he is grabbing one of his dinosaur t-shirts to bring with him. 

“Yeah buddy, what's up?” Tobin asks him, as she folds one of his button ups to place in the suitcase. 

“Will your family like me” Max questions 

“I think they are going to love you” Tobin says 

“How do you know? What if they don’t like me?” He questions again 

“I know they will love you, because I love you. But also because you are so awesome anyone would be crazy if they didn’t. So you don’t have to worry about them not liking you. My nephew will want to be your best friend. He likes Lego just like you so you can play together.” Tobin tells him. Hoping that will ease his worries. She understands how he must be feeling, but she wished he didn’t feel like that. 

“But what if they don’t? Does that mean you and mommy are going to break up and you are going to leave me?” Max chokes out as tears start to fall out of his eyes. 

Tobin puts the clothes she was folding down on the bed to move over to Max so she was eye level with him. She pulls him in close. “Buddy, look at me” Tobin says, pausing until he looks at her. “That is not something that is ever going to happen, so please stop thinking like that. I love you and your mommy so much, and I don’t plan on breaking up with her or leaving you anytime soon. You mean the world to me. I promise I won’t leave you.” 

“Okay” Max says 

“Now let’s turn that frown upside down, and finish packing so we can go play” Tobin says standing back up to move over to the bed. 

*

Thanksgiving with the Heath family was always a big deal. In Tobin’s mind it was always the most special holiday to her. They never celebrated as what the history books did, to them it was just about family spending time together and being thankful for the life they get to live. 

When she thinks about it she can almost taste all the food her grandmother cooked for the family. Her grandmother was such a good cook, she wishes she had actually paid attentioned and learned some tricks. It would probably have come in handy to try and impress Christen. She also wishes her grandmother was still here to meet Christen; she knows her grandmother would love her. 

Jeff was supposed to be picking them up from the airport. Tobin was happy for that because he would be the easiest one for the Press’ to be introduced too. Tobin grabbed their bags from the baggage claim and they headed for the exit. 

She immediately saw Jeff and led the group to him. She dropped her bag and reached out to hug him. “I missed you bro” Tobin said 

“Missed you to Sis.” Jeff responded as the two let go. Jeff then looked over at the Press’. “And you must be Max” He said, looking at Christen “Which makes you Christen” Jeff says purposely messing up their names hoping to lighten the mood. 

“No I am Max” Max says giggling 

“Oh that’s right silly me” Jeff says “Well Max I am Tobin’s brother Jeff. I am so glad I finally get to met you” 

“Nice to meet you too” Max says, going to hide behind his mom. 

“Christen it's nice to finally get to meet you in person. Tobin won’t shut up about you.” Jeff says 

“Jeff” Tobin whines out 

“Well the pleasure is all mine. I am so glad we could come” Christen says 

*

When they arrive at Tobin’s parents house they all exit the car. “I’ll bring your bags up, it's just mom and dad right now. Come in when you are ready. I will try to keep them at bay” Jeff says opening the trunk and grabbing their luggage. 

Tobin walks over to Christen and gives her a peck on the lips. “Are you ready baby” Tobin asks 

“I think so. I am a little nervous. I just want them to think I am good enough for you” Christen says

“Well baby you are too good for me, you are way out of my league, so you will be plenty good enough. I think we are perfect for eachother and I know they will see that.” Tobin says 

Christen leans in to give Tobin another kiss before pulling away. “I love you. I am ready, let's go.” Christen says. Tobin stands in the middle of Christen and Max, holding their hands as she walks up to the front door. 

As soon as the door opened Tobin saw her mom standing in the Foyer with a beaming smile on her face. “Hi mom”

“Oh hi honey” Cindy said, running over to give her youngest daughter a hug. “I missed you so much” 

“I missed you too” Tobin said, pulling away and looking over at Max and Christen. “Mom this is Christen and her son Max” 

“I am so happy to finally meet you guys. I am a hugger” Cindy said, opening her arms to pull Christen into a hug followed by Max. 

“It's nice to meet you to Mrs. Heath” Christen tells her 

“Oh please just call me Cindy. None of that Mrs’ crap” Cindy says “Tobin why don’t you give them a tour of the house, and then head outside. Your sisters should he arriving soon” 

*

Thanksgiving day came fast. Tobin was outside playing football with her brother, brother in-laws and the kids. Christen was watching them from the deck when Perry came over. 

“You know my sister has always been good with kids, but I have never seen her be the way she is with Max.” Perry says

“They have been attached at the hip since they first met.” Christen says smiling as she looks over at Perry

“I can see that. I can see how happy she is with you guys. She has always wanted a family. I don’t know if she ever told you this, and she will probably kill me for telling you, but she always wanted that white picket fence American dream. So when she came out it was really tough for her because she never thought she could get that. But I can see that she has found it with you and I could not be more happy for the two of you” Perry said 

“Thanks Perry. That means a lot. As much as I make her happy, she makes me just as happy if not more. I always want that white picket fence life two, and I thought I was never going to get that. Who would want to be with someone who already has a kid. But Tobin never even flinched, she was all in right from the beginning.” Christen says with her eyes starting to water. 

“You know I had all these interrogation questions for you, I never got to be the big scary sister before. But the moment I met you and saw you guys together like a little family, I knew I didn’t have to ask a single one. I can already tell how much you guys love each other and that you will never intentionally hurt her. I am so happy you guys found your way back to each other.” Perry said leaning over to wrap her arms around the younger woman. 

“I swear Perry I would never do anything to hurt her. I love her too much” Christen says as she pulls away from the hug. 

“Okay enough of this sappy stuff, I want the juicy gossip, has Tobin had to reprimand Max yet? I still laugh at the time she tried to with Cole, I thought she was going to have a panic attack.” Perry said laughing 

“Oh my gosh. I can just imagine that happening. She has had a couple, but she says she has handled them really well. She has just been so great. I think it helps that they are so similar. If I didn’t know any better I think Max was her kid” Christen says, smiling as she stares at Tobin picking Max up and spinning him around in the yard. 

*

The dinner went off without a hitch. The conversation was flowing all throughout dinner. Everyone ate a ton and felt as though they were ten pounds heavier. 

After everyone was finished people started to slowly get up from the table to move to the kitchen to watch the football game. 

“Cindy dinner was delicious.” Christen said as she rose from the table. 

“Thank you so much dear” Cindy says, starting to collect the dishes on the table. Christen starts to help her, collecting some of the dishes as well. “Oh no dear, put those down you are our guest. Tobin will help me sweetie. You go sit down and relax. You deserve it.”

“Are you sure” Christen says, putting the dishes back on the table. 

“Yes baby she is sure” Tobin says, giving her a peck on the lips before grabbing the dishes and moving towards the kitchen. 

Once the table is cleared Cindy begins washing and Tobin begins drying the dishes. “So” Tobin says 

“So what” Cindy asks, acting oblivious to what her youngest daughter is trying to say. 

“Mom you know what. What do you think” Tobin says 

“Well I think you are missing some spots. That dish looks still a little wet” Cindy says as she continues washing the dishes. 

“Mom that's not what I mean” Tobin whines out. 

“I think she is great honey. She seems like an amazing woman.” Cindy says 

“Okay good” Tobin says releasing a breathe 

“But it doesn’t matter what I think about her. It's about you, and if she makes you happy” Cindy says 

“She does mom. I am so happy. Happier than I can ever remember being. I know you guys used to worry about me, but I don’t think you have to anymore. Mom, I think she is the one. I love her so much. So ending the last couple weeks in Utah with them acting like a normal family, it has just been everything I could have ever wanted and more.” Tobin rambles on. 

“Well that is all I could ever want. I did worry about you sweetie. But not in the way you think. You always see the good in people, and they would take advantage of that and you would get hurt in the end. But I don’t see that with Christen. So what's next for you guys” 

“I don’t know. It's so tough with us being on separate teams during the season. But I think I want to get us promise rings. I know it is too soon for us to get engaged and I hope we can be in the same place when we do. But I want her to know I am in this for the long haul, that I want this forever.” Tobin says, drying another dish and putting it in the stack 

“I think that is a great idea sweetie” Cindy says 

“So I was wondering if you would want to come with me tomorrow to pick it out? Chris said she, Katie and Perry were going to do a little shopping. The boys are all going to stay here so I thought maybe we could go” Tobin says 

“That sounds wonderful. I am in” Cindy says 

*

Black Friday shopping never appealed to Tobin. She hated crowds and she never needed anything so badly that she had to go out in them. But today was different. This was something worth going out for. 

To be honest she didn’t care about getting a deal, she would pay every last cent in her bank account to get Christen a beautiful ring. But it was more about she only had limited time with her family and she wanted to do the shopping with her mom. 

They walk into the jewelry shop. Tobin and her mom start to browse what is in the cases when a gentleman walks up to them. “How can I help you ladies” he asks 

“My daughter here is looking for a promise ring of sorts to get her beautiful girlfriend” Cindy says 

“Oh wonderful what if I get some together and we take a look at them. Why don’t you go take a seat over there” the gentleman says as he goes to gather the rings 

As Tobin and her mom are sitting waiting for the man, Tobin can’t help but bounce her leg. Cindy puts her hand on Tobin’s knee. “Tobs” 

“Sorry I am just nervous” Tobin says looking at her mom apologetically 

“No need to be sorry. But there is nothing to be nervous about. You could give her a ring pop and she would still feel the same way” Cindy says 

The man comes over and sits in front of the two women. “So we have a couple options here. I wasn’t exactly sure what you were looking for. So I brought over a bunch” He says laughing a little 

Tobin seemed to be a little overwhelmed. There were so many options. Some had diamonds and some didn’t. Some were a matching set. She didn’t know what to pick. 

“Sweetheart” Cindy said. When her daughter looked over at her she continued “what are you thinking” 

“I don’t know.” Tobin says 

“Okay why don’t we start with this. What color do you want” Cindy asks 

“Umm I think gold. I think Chris told me once she likes gold over silver. Or was it the other way around” Tobin said 

“Sweetie go with your gut” Cindy says 

“Okay Gold. She would want gold” Tobin says 

“Great” the gentleman says as he starts to move the non-gold rings out of the way. 

“Okay do you want diamonds or not” Cindy asks 

“Umm I don’t think I want a diamond. Chris I don’t think will mind but I want us to have the same ring. So I think a simple band” Tobin says 

“Awesome” the gentleman clears out the rest leaving only three options. Tobin studies them, this was much easier now that she had less choices. 

She picked up one and knew that was the one she wanted. “This one” Tobin said confidently 

“Great. This is our Cartier Love Ring. So you want two of these?” He asks 

“Yes sir. Thank you very much” Tobin says 

“No problem, let me gets these all together and then I will ring you up” he says as he gets up and walks away 

“Thanks for your help mom. I don’t think I could have done this without help” Tobin says 

“Always sweetheart. Whenever you need me.” Cindy says 

*

A couple weeks later they are all back in Utah. The rest of their time spent with the Heaths was wonderful. 

Currently Amy and Christen are just finished practicing some drills at the field. “So how was thanksgiving” Amy asks Christen

“It was so good. Her family was wonderful. It was nice to finally meet them in person..” Christen pauses for a second 

“Why do I sense a but or something coming” Amy asks 

“I don’t know. Ever since we got home she has been acting weird” Christen says

“Tobin weird never” Amy fakes as though she is shocked 

“I mean weirder than normal. She is like acting distant, and sometimes she just disappears for hours and I don’t know where she is” Christen says 

“I am sure its just Tobin being Tobin” Amy tries to reassure her friend 

“But what if it isn’t. What if her family didn’t like me. Or what if she didn’t like me in her family. What if she is planning or breaking up with me. She is having you watch Max tonight what if she is doing it tonight” Christen starts to freak out 

“Christen I am going to need you to breathe. Tobin said she wants you to dress nice right?” Amy asks and Christen nods her head. “Tobin is anything but a cruel aww person, she wouldn’t have you get all dressed up, just to break up with you” 

“I guess you are right. I am just really worried” Christen responds 

*

“Chris, are you ready we are going to be late.” Tobin shouts down the hall. 

“One second” Christen says 

A moment later Christen comes walking down the hall. “Wow.. Babe” Tobin says as she notices her girlfriend. “You look gorgeous” 

“Thanks” Christen says, blushing. “You look amazing too” 

*

“Where are we going” Christen asks, as they are in the car on the way to their desired destination. 

“It's a surprise, but I think you will like it” Tobin replies. 

“I hope you know how much I love you, because you are the only one I will let surprise me” Christen says. 

“Oh I know Tyler told me that time she surprised you and you gave her black eye.” Tobin says laughing 

They arrive at their decision quickly. Tobin puts the car in park and turns to Christen. “Can you close your eyes?” Tobin asks. Christen closes her eyes. Tobin walks over to openChristen’s door. She leads her to the location she wants. “Okay open them” 

When she opens her eyes, her breath is taken away. In front of her is a beautiful lake. The sun is setting so the sky has the pink and orange combo that she has begun to love so much. There is a dock leading out into the water. At the end of the dock there is a table, the dock is lined up with candles the whole way down. She thinks this is a scene you only see in hallmark movies. 

“Tobin this is amazing.” Christen says, as she grabs Tobin's hand and gives it a little squeeze. 

“I wanted it to be special” Tobin says as they start walking to their seats. Tobin pulls out Christen’s chair for her and they sit down. 

The dinner is going great. They have just finished dinner and are there second glasses or 

Christen’s favorite red wine. Tobin grabs Christen’s hands from across the table. “Chris, I wish I could put into words how much I love you. But it would never be enough. You make my life better. You make me smile bigger than I ever thought possible. You are so smart, and beautiful. You are funny even though you don’t think you are. But even if i can never put it into words. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.” Tobin says and she removes her left hand to grab the item burning a hole in her pocket. 

When Christen sees what Tobin is holding she gasps “Tobin” 

“Chris I know it's too soon for a proposal. We haven’t been dating for that long and we don’t live together for half the year. But I know I want us to be a family. Me, you, Max and hopefully down the road some more rugrats. So i got you this” Tobin says as she opens the box “It’s a promise ring. It's a ring because I promise one day when the time is right I am going to propose. I will say “I do” to you in front of all our family and friends. I love you Chris more than I have ever loved anything in my life, except maybe that little boy who is half you. So what do you says” Tobin finishes. Christen tried but halfway through her eye ducts just opened and the tears were flowing.

“Yes, Tobin. Yes. I can’t wait until the future. I love you so much.” Christen says and Tobin slides the ring on her finger. “Its beautiful babe” 

“My mom helped me pick it out that day we went shopping.” Tobin said as she reaches into her pocket to grab another box. “So I am not really sure if this was how it works, but I got myself a matching one. I want us both to have it. I want us both to always think of our promise of the future when we look down.” 

“I don’t care if it’s how it's supposed to go. I love it. Christen says 

*

Christmas was always hectic. Tobin, Christen and Max were spending it in California with the Press’ because they spent Thanksgiving with the Heaths. Max got spoiled like crazy, because well who could say no to a face like his. 

Tobin couldn’t be happier that she got to spend this holiday with the people she loves the most. Christen loved more than anything that her family loved Max and they got along so well. 

*

Christen’s birthday came and went. They decided to just have a quiet even at home with her family. Her mom made her favorite dish, they played board games and watched movies. It was more than she could ask for. 

*

New Year’s Eve was her best one yet. When the clock struck midnight she kissed Tobin so she could end and start the new year connected to the one who definitely had a piece of her heart. Tobin whispered in her ear “I hope you know you will never have another New Years kiss that isn’t me so you better get used to these lips.” 

*

The craziness of the holidays were over which meant that it would be January camp, followed by them separating for the season. They were sad that they wouldn’t be able to spend everyday together, but they knew they were stronger than ever and their love could last no matter the distance. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the ending feels rushed. I just wanted to add a little something but I had no ideas for the rest of the holidays. Please comment, and let me know what you thought if the chapter or any ideas you have. Please give me some ideas I am at such a writers block I need help.


End file.
